Daniel Ricciardo has ruled out his struggles with the RB Formula 1 team in 2024 being a repeat of the difficulties he encountered during his past spell with McLaren.
Ricciardo arrived at McLaren in 2021 as one of the hottest commodities in the sport, but he was unable to match Lando Norris and was dropped at the end of 2022.
Having been handed an F1 reprieve with Red Bull’s sister squad last term, Ricciardo was bidding to hit the ground running with the rebranded RB squad this season.
However, the Australian has qualified behind team-mate Yuki Tsunoda at all three rounds to date and has failed to score a single point, recording a best finish of 12th.
Despite admitting that he was “puzzled” with his deficit to Tsunoda in Melbourne, Ricciardo is optimistic his troubles aren’t comparable to his ill-fated McLaren stint.
Asked whether he had pinpointed where his shortcomings have been, Ricciardo said: “We’re chasing, like always, a little bit of downforce, a little bit more rear grip.
“But to be honest I struggled a little bit in the high-speed in Melbourne and in Saudi. In Saudi we did see we were down a bit so we felt like we had a bit of an explanation for that.
“But it was still the case in Melbourne through Turns 9 and 10, where I was down a bit compared to Yuki.
“We probably focused a little bit of our set-up on those areas to give me that confidence and then the low and medium speed stuff, we were pretty much there.
“Then, on top of that, it’s not a McLaren situation, it’s just important that I keep working with my engineers and don’t start taking too many suggestions or too much advice from the outside.
“Of course, I would’ve wanted more results from the first three races. I’m not happy with it, of course. But it’s important we ultimately stay on course and don’t get sidetracked.”
Ricciardo has revealed that he and his engineers exhausted potential avenues during the break to ensure there were no glaring issues with his VCARB 01 chassis.
“Since Saudi we changed a few things and probably for China we’ll change a few more things,” he divulged.
“We’re obviously trying to make sure that everything is good and there are no flaws in anything. It’s just, obviously, peace of mind for us, because we have explored quite a bit.
“And when I’ve done a full pre-season and I jumped in last year and I was on the same straight away in Budapest and this year it feels like I’m a little bit behind with better preparation and with more experience with the car and the team. That’s why we’re just making sure that we’re not missing something that is kind of out of our control for now.”
Pressed about the topic of asking for a new chassis, Ricciardo added: “I certainly addressed that. Just, again, to make sure.
“There has been in the past a bit of difference. I’ve driven in F1 a long time now, but you can find some differences.
“So, that was certainly something I raised the possibility of if I’m still struggling before we just tell me I’m shit, let’s at least get that sorted and put everything to bed.”
RB has a revised floor for this weekend’s race at Suzuka as it bids to maintain sixth place in the championship, but Ricciardo warns it will bring minimal improvements.
“We’re not downplaying it, but this one’s a small bit,” he cautioned.
“It’s not something that will revolutionise the car, but it’s a little bit here and there, so that’ll be nice and we have a few more in the pipeline for the next few races.
“Every bit helps and counts, and in the midfield battle we’re in, if it gives us half a tenth, that’s something we’ll happily take.”
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