RB workforce principal Laurent Mekies says the onus is on his outfit to offer Danial Ricciardo with “what he wants” to carry out to his full potential.
Ricciardo has struggled to constantly match teammate Yuki Tsunoda this season, scoring solely 9 factors in comparison with Tsunoda’s 19.
Whereas there have been flashes of outperformance – like in Miami and final weekend in Canada – the inconsistency displayed by the Australian driver has left pundits questioning his future in F1.
Final weekend in Montreal, Jacques Villeneuve supplied a brutal evaluation of Ricciardo’s state of affairs, questioning his presence on the grid and accusing the F1 veteran of constructing excuses to justify his lack of outcomes.
Mekies acknowledges Ricciardo’s struggles but in addition highlights moments like his robust qualifying efficiency and factors end in Canada as proof of the motive force’s nonetheless robust potential.
Moreover, the RB workforce boss feels that its as much as the Faenza outfit to create the proper setting for Ricciardo to carry out.
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“We’re centered on ensuring that Daniel can carry out at his finest,” Mekies advised RACER. “And I feel this weekend, as a lot as Miami and as a lot as maybe China, are reminder to all of us of how excessive a efficiency Daniel can present if he’s in the proper window, if we give him what he wants.
“It’s our duty as a workforce to have that focus, and that’s what we’re pondering all day lengthy.
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“So for those who ask me now what are we pondering proper now? We’re pondering on daily basis, each hour, each minute, let’s attempt to verify we lock in that window for him, and get the outcomes out.
“And it’s a bit like Yuki – for those who try this then it means you might be unimaginable to disregard. If you happen to don’t try this, it means we haven’t managed – as a gaggle – to do what we have been alleged to do.”
Whereas Tsunoda has been confirmed by RB for 2025, there was no such endorsement relating to Ricciardo. Pink Bull is predicted to make a name over the summer season on RB’s second seat for subsequent season, with Ricciardo and proficient reserve driver Liam Lawson the primary contenders for the drive.
Nevertheless, Christian Horner has made clear that Ricciardo must “work onerous” to stay on the grid in 2025.
“I feel Daniel has had an up and down begin to the yr,” the Pink Bull chief advised Sky Sports activities in Canada.
“He is aware of he has to ship. He knew he hadn’t performed sufficient to warrant a seat within the senior workforce for subsequent yr.
“There’s nonetheless loads of time,” the Briton added.
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“We’ve obtained Daniel, whose clearly obtained quite a lot of expertise and I feel what you’ll be able to’t ignore that his expertise has undoubtedly benefitted Yuki, as a result of there’s some actual engineering course in there and I feel there’s actually helped that point.
“We’ve obtained some nice younger expertise coming by means of in Method 2, we’ve obtained Isack Hadjar knocking on the door.
“He’s [Ricciardo] going to must work onerous to retain that seat, if that is what he needs to do.
“Liam [Lawson] as effectively, he’s one other actually legitimate member of the workforce. He’s champing on the bit, glued to each session. And we all know what he’s able to. So there’s at all times strain on the incumbent drivers.”
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