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Visa Cash App RB CEO Peter Bayer claimed that Daniel Ricciardo has 'deleted' his Instagram to avoid any further distractions off the track as he fights for his place in F1. The Aussie driver has been under pressure since the start of the season, being outperformed by Yuki Tsunoda in the first half.
Though he has regained a bit of an edge over his Japanese teammate in the last couple of races, Ricciardo's future remains uncertain as the prospect of being replaced by Liam Lawson in 2025 looms over his RB seat.
Bayer spoke about Ricciardo's focus in the last couple of races, comparing him to Max Verstappen (via PlanetF1):
“There’s no more extra media time – we’re really reducing it to the absolute minimum. Sponsorship appearances are minimal. Someone even told me that he has deleted the Instagram app on his phone and let his team manage it to make sure that he’s not distracted!"
“Probably the only person who is as focused as Daniel in the battle right now is Max [Verstappen]. I think those are the two people who are like, 'racing is everything.'”
Daniel Ricciardo gives his take on his F1 future ahead of Silverstone
Daniel Ricciardo stated that he is convinced that he can change the narrative around his 2025 seat if he performs well at Silverstone this weekend (via PlanetF1):
"If I kick ass at Silverstone, then I think the narrative can change."
The Aussie also reflected on whether Liam Lawson's upcoming test is worrisome.
“No, also I believe it’s been planned for a while. But in any case, it’s one of those ones where I think also the older you get, you understand that, [you] control the controllable," Ricciardo said.
The driver further emphasized that he needs to make Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko smile as he did in Montreal, adding:
"So I think that’s where I obviously have to own that and be on top of what I can do, and I’m sure that qualifying fifth in Montreal made Helmut smile. If I can do that a few more times, then I’m sure I’ll make him smile. So, it’s still so heavily on performance and [I’ll] just keep focused on that.”
Daniel Ricciardo out-qualified Yuki Tsunoda in two of the three qualifying sessions in Canada and Austria and also finished ahead in the main races at Montreal, Barcelona and Spielberg.
While the 24-year-old remains ahead of him in the Drivers' Championship with 19 points in P10, Ricciardo has been slowly clawing back to narrow the deficit. He currently sits in P13 with 11 points.
