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RB team principal Laurent Mekies is very impressed with Daniel Ricciardo and his temperament in the face of adversity. Speaking to the onsite media including Sportskeeda in China, the Frenchman felt that the Australian still had the capability to deliver top class results.
In Japan, the gap between Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda had come down to half-a-tenth of a second in qualifying. However, in the Chinese GP, the former Red Bull driver had put approximately half a second between himself and the Japanese driver on Friday and three-tenths of a second in both the sprint shoot out and qualifying. He finished ahead of his teammate in the sprint race and was shunted out of the main race by Lance Stroll, else he was set on a trajectory to earn some points.
According to Mekies, Daniel Ricciardo has maintained a calm temperament despite a troubled start to the season. He felt that the 34-year-old driver had a good trajectory and should be back in competitive form to deliver better results. The RB team principal felt that it was a matter of finding the right setup which seems to be paying off its dividends. During the 30 lap odd race that both RB drivers had, the roles seemed to have reversed where Tsunoda was heard complaining on his radio about the traction out of the corners which his counterpart didn’t seem to have.
Explaining the mindset of Daniel Ricciardo to the media in Shanghai, Mekies said:
“Unlike what is perhaps perceived from the outside, during all this difficult start to the season, he has been very focused, very calm, very rational about it. We looked at the limitations of the car, and what he needed to go faster. Some of the steps you can do quickly, but first you need to understand it. Then once you have understood, some of the steps you can act quickly, and some others will take more time. We have tried to tick as many boxes as we could, but we certainly don't stop here.”
Asked if the Australian had the same potential to deliver as he did in the past, he replied:
“Yeah, absolutely. It's the DNA of our job to try to identify what car set-up is needed for both the car and the drivers to perform at their best, and that is what we are doing with both our drivers. We have seen a strong growth from Yuki and we are seeing Daniel getting back on his trajectory.”
RB insists that Daniel Ricciardo made significant progress in China
RB team principal Laurent Mekies believes that the progress made by Daniel Ricciardo in China was a mental boost to his confidence. The Australian was given a new chassis but had sorted his setup since the Japanese GP. Despite two DNFs in a row, the Frenchman reckons that they will be introducing further updates to the 34-year-old’s car to make him feel better.
Speaking to media including Sportskeeda, Daniel Ricciardo suggested that the chassis change made a difference to his comfort in the car. The eight-time Grand Prix winner reckoned that the car was definitely quicker in every aspect at the Shanghai circuit.
Explaining the trajectory of progress with Daniel Ricciardo, Mekies explained:
“Already in Saudi, we were starting to say that we were seeing stuff that made us understand how to support him better. So yeah, the trajectory is good. We have not reached the finish line there and we have a few things mid-term coming to help him feel better in the car and to make sure that our car suits his driving style the best. But certainly it will be a good confidence boost to see that there is tangible progress like we saw over [the China] weekend.”
Speaking to media including Sportskeeda after the Chinese race, Daniel Ricciardo described his weekend saying:
“From the get-go it just felt like we're in a better place and everything came a bit more seamlessly. We did change chassis. I don't want to jump on that and be like: "It's definitely that'. But something didn't make me feel right with the previous chassis I was racing.”
“As soon as we put on the second medium, we were very good. I know we were only out there for five or six laps, but it felt rapid. The tyres still being pretty good, we chose to stay out for track position. Then we were going to fit a soft at the end. We would have been in a very good place.”
Despite the upward trajectory in terms of performance, Daniel Ricciardo has been scrutinised heavily over his performance in the early stages of the silly season at play. The fact that he remains a contender for the Red Bull 2025 seat has led to his performances being scrutinised with a microscopic lens. From Red Bull's perspective as they have said many times, it is understood that he might have time to turn around his performance.
For the upcoming race weekend in Miami, Daniel Ricciardo has been slapped with a three-place grid penalty for the race. Time is of the essence in his case, to turn around his performance, as the likes of Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez eye his former seat. While Christian Horner remains his biggest supporter, he could only have a handful of races to prove his point. Nevertheless, Mekies' assurance and RB's confidence in him could buy him more time but his performances henceforth need to be good enough for him to secure his future for 2025 and beyond.
