Daniel Ricciardo

Sophia Crothall

Daniel Ricciardo’s poor performance has left him with an ultimatum: improve or be replaced by reserve driver Liam Lawson.

The recent Formula 1 history of Daniel Ricciardo has been a rocky one. In 2022, he left McLaren a year early and was replaced by fellow Australian Oscar Piastri. He then moved back to Red Bull, this time as their third driver, in what was essentially a marketing role.

However, shortly into the 2023 season, Ricciardo made his official return to the sport when he replaced AlphaTauri — now known as Visa Cash App RB — driver, Nyck de Vries, after 11 races. His performance in mid-season testing coupled with de Vries’ poor performance ultimately secured his return to the grid. 

What Happened During Ricciardo’s Return?

Whilst fans welcomed his return, he did not create much impact for the Red Bull junior team. His return in Hungary only saw him set a time 0.013s faster than his teammate Yuki Tsunoda in qualifying and saw him knocked out of Q3, starting in 13th. In the race, he finished in the same place. 

Ricciardo continued to sit in the middle of the field for several races, until Mexico. The Australian set the eighth and sixth fastest times in the Friday sessions and was ninth in the third practice. In qualifying, he finished third in Q1 and fourth overall in Q4. During this time, he was still recovering after he broke his left hand during practice at the Dutch Grand Prix in August. Overall, Ricciardo finished seventh in the Mexico Grand Prix. 

Daniel Ricciardo’s Driving History

The 34-year-old’s return to Formula 1 has not been easy, much like his past few years in the sport. Ricciardo triumphed during his time racing with Red Bull between 2014 and 2018. Before that, he raced for Red Bull’s junior team, Toro Rosso, from 2012 to 2013. However, in August 2018, Ricciardo announced a surprising move. He would be leaving Red Bull at the end of the season to join Renault (now known as Alpine).

He had a poor start to the season, retiring in his first two races. He only managed a ninth-place finish in the 2019 championship. In 2020, Ricciardo announced another team change, this time to McLaren.

“In both Saudi Arabia and Australia, his teammate Tsunoda outscored him“

During the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, Ricciardo secured his first win for the team. It was also the team’s first win since the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, alongside their first one-two finish since the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix.

Despite his performances during his first year with McLaren, they announced in August 2022 that Ricciardo and McLaren had mutually agreed to terminate his contract a year early, leaving him without a seat. By the end of 2022, he finished 11th in the championship, with an 85-point deficit to his teammate Lando Norris, who finished 7th. 

The 2024 season is the first time Ricciardo is expected to run full-time since 2022. So far, he finished 13th in the opening race in Bahrain, 16th in Saudi Arabia, and 12th in Australia. In both Saudi Arabia and Australia, his teammate Tsunoda outscored him. 

Will Ricciardo Be Replaced?

During Ricciardo’s injury time out in 2023, reserve driver Liam Lawson replaced him. Lawson raced in five races of the 2023 season and secured his first points in Formula 1 during the Singapore Grand Prix where he finished ninth. His performance that weekend was a hot topic after he out-qualified reigning world champion Max Verstappen.

Rumours have begun to grow after Red Bull team advisor Helmut Marko criticised Ricciardo for finishing two positions behind his teammate in 16th in Saudi Arabia. They suggested that Ricciardo had been given an ultimatum: improve in the next two races in Japan and China or be replaced by Lawson starting in Miami. Red Bull has since denied these reports.

When questioned on the rumours, the driver said: “The most important part of our job is the driving but a big part of it is talking [to the media]. When things go well, everyone is talking positively and when they do not, they do not talk so positively.”

The Australian has spoken out that he remains in a confident and happy mindset despite the challenging start to the season. 

“It is funny because, on paper, it has not been good [so far this season], and I know obviously that as well, the results have not been what I wanted. But personally, and the confidence and the happiness and all of that, is really unchanged, so it is really just a matter now of getting a result and kind of putting new things to rest.”

Japanese Grand Prix 2024

Ricciardo stepped aside for the first practice at the Japanese Grand Prix with Super Formula driver Ayumu Iwasa taking his place. Marko revealed that the 22-year-old Japanese driver would take part in FP1 at his home race. 

He said before the race: “On Friday, we will use our young pilot Ayumu Iwasa in practice, an All-Nippon team.

“What’s more, the Suzuka circuit should suit the Racing Bulls car.”

This sees the team fulfil one of their two mandatory FP1 sessions which must be given to a rookie driver. This requires all 20 drivers to give up one FP1 session at any point during the season.

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Featured image courtesy of Victor Belisle via Flickr. No changes have been made to this image. Image license found here.

Sophia is studying for a masters in 'Cultural and Creative Industries' at Cardiff University. She has key interests in F1 and Football and is looking to pursue a career in Sports Media. Sophia also runs her own sports news account @sophiacrothall_sport on Tik Tok.

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