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Daniel Ricciardo is elated to return to 2024 preseason testing, despite his lack of excitement about it in the past. Speaking to media including Sportskeeda in the press conference on the first day of testing in Bahrain, the Australian felt that his feelings towards testing this year were different from those in the past.
Glad to have taken time off from the sport last year during the test, Daniel Ricciardo was a third driver for the Red Bull Racing team. Racing for Visa Cashapp RB in 2024, the 34-year-old is now eager to make a comeback after an interrupted return to the sport in 2023. Yearning to get more track time with his revamped team and car, the Western Australian was excited to be at the test.
Asked if missing preseason testing last year made him excited to return to it in 2024, Daniel Ricciardo replied:
“I am. I enjoyed missing it last year, you know where I was. Let’s say where my headspace was, I was enjoying the time off. But yeah, a year later I am weirdly very happy to be here at preseason testing. Normally I’m just happy to go racing, which is still true. But yeah really excited to get in the car, in probably in an hours time or something and do this afternoons session. So It’s cool. I am liking the atmosphere.”
Daniel Ricciardo feels podiums and wins are still a far-fetched goal for Visa Cashapp RB
Daniel Ricciardo feels the ideal targets for the RB team are to be leading the front of the midfield. He believes that the Faenza team are still building themselves to move away from being a junior team for Red Bull. Being cautiously optimistic, the Australian driver reckoned that podiums and wins were still a long way down the road. However, he felt that they would advance further as the year progressed.
Outlining the goals for the RB team in 2024, Daniel Ricciardo spoke to media including Sportskeeda saying:
“I mean I would love to say yes. But truth is we are trying to certainly build something right now. I think this is a year where the team really tries to salvage themselves and kind of stand on their own two feet and obviously then try to establish a fight at the front of the midfield. Wins and podiums are probably a bit of probably a wish at the moment, more than a reality. But as the year goes on, we will progress and hopefully keep getting closer and closer to the front.”
After the press conference, Daniel Ricciardo clocked the fourth fastest time of the session timed at 1 minute 32.599 seconds. His timing was less than a tenth of a second slower than Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz who was third fastest, and a tenth of a second slower than McLaren’s Lando Norris who was the second fastest driver of the day.
The RB driver completed a total running of 52 laps, while his teammate Yuki Tsunoda completed a total of 64 laps in the VCARB-01. Despite the cautious optimism shown by the Perth-born driver, their pace in testing suggested they could be closer to the front than expected.
