Ricciardo: I’m looking for a chance to improve at least a little bit…

The Red Bull delegation to the Goodwood Festival of Speed ​​also includes Daniel Ricciardo, who entertains the crowd by smoking tires and doing donuts at the wheel of the 2011 RB7.

However, when it comes to sporting results, the Australian has not been pleasing his fans much this season. His performances have been inconsistent and it is not as if the 35-year-old Australian is not worried.

“This is what upsets me the most,” he admitted in an interview with the championship’s official website. – My disappointment comes from looking at myself in the mirror and saying: I am capable of showing good results, but how can I achieve this on a regular basis? After all, if I manage to have a successful weekend, I am happy. However, there are still more positives than negatives.

There will come a day when I can no longer do my job well, but let me at least have a good day now and then, because that means I am still able to perform well. And it is only up to me to make sure that there will be more days like this.

There will be difficult days, because setbacks are inevitable, but I still enjoy the anticipation of race week. I always wonder: what if the following weekend turns out to be particularly successful? Maybe extraordinary things will happen – I still believe in it and still feel inspired.

The competition is fierce. Of course, I have managed to win races before; nothing makes me happier than winning. But now I consider it a small victory if we manage to earn points. If we do this, I leave the track in a good mood. Certainly, all this still makes me happy.”

However, there are rumors that Ricciardo’s Formula 1 career could end this year or even halfway through the season – Red Bull has Liam Lawson, a promising and fast reserve, who is eagerly waiting for his turn. Helmut Marko has already made it clear that the young New Zealander will take Daniel’s place at Visa RB in 2025. In general, Ricciardo’s task is to undo the undesirable development of events in front of him as quickly as possible, and for that he needs results.

According to rumours, there are people in Red Bull’s senior management who are backing Daniel, and also Laurent Mekies, head of Visa RB, believes he should be given more time. In any case, we have two very important races coming up – in Hungary and Belgium – the results of which could affect Ricciardo’s fate.

Daniel scored just 11 points in the first half of the season, while Yuki Tsunoda, his team-mate, had almost twice as many points. However, Ricciardo was ahead of Japanese driver Visa RB in three of the last four races.

“Something changed,” Daniel confirmed. – It happened after Monaco, then I had to think about it. I thought I was well prepared for that weekend, but I couldn’t get the results I needed. Together with the team and the people around me, I tried to understand what could be changed.

Maybe we should prepare better for the races? Last year, when I returned to Formula 1, I decided to train according to my own method, and this had some positive effect.

But now I have started working more closely with Pyry Salmela, my physical training coach. Since my return last year he has always been with me during the race weekends. But now I use his experience and knowledge more effectively.

Ultimately, you have to be prepared to be flexible. If some methods worked perfectly six months ago, it is not a given that they will work now. In general, I try to analyze all aspects of the preparation, looking for an opportunity to improve at least a little bit…”

If Ricciardo succeeds in this in the near future and his results become more stable, unexpected perspectives could theoretically open up for him. Given that Sergio Perez has been having serious problems recently, it cannot be ruled out that Red Bull could refuse the services of the Mexican. According to Daniel, however, he is not thinking about it now.

“I think the stopwatch will decide everything. That’s what I tell myself. I don’t see any other factors,” he said. – The level of rivalry in Formula 1 is very high now. Yes, there are marketing and other considerations that affect the situation in our sport, which is inextricably linked to business.

But in the end the stopwatch doesn’t lie – and for me this is the surest way to extend my career in Formula 1.”

Source: F1 News

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