Daniel Ricciardo’s millions of fans might be hoping he continues making predictions.
A year ago at the Mexico City Grand Prix, the F1 driver declared after the first two practice sessions that his car had the potential to finish in the top 10. Ricciardo proved it over the next two days, qualifying fourth and then seventh in the main event at the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix. It was Ricciardo’s best result after his shock return to the grid mid-season and went a long way to helping him keep his seat for the 2024 campaign.
At the Red Bull Ring on Saturday, Ricciardo just missed out on a place in Q3, finishing 0.015s behind Esteban Ocon in 10th place. Ricciardo’s qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix ended in Q2, but the Australian driver remained optimistic and offered another few predictions after qualifying.
“Obviously it’s frustrating to miss out on a place in Q3 this afternoon by just a few milliseconds, but at the same time it’s a more positive result and something to be proud of because I think we’ve made progress since yesterday,” Ricciardo said in RB F1 Team’s post-qualifying debrief on Saturday. “I think we need to find a bit more for tomorrow, but today’s qualifying has put us in a pretty good position for the race. We’ve made some progress with the pit stops and [tire] It’s no different, so there’s no reason to think we can’t be in the top 10 tomorrow.”
On Sunday, Ricciardo proved himself right.
Ricciardo started his 250th F1 race in 11th place but worked his way into the top 10 and drove a clean race to finish ninth, adding two points to his total this year. The team’s early pit stops allowed Ricciardo to get past his rivals on track, particularly the Alpine of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly.
After the race the driver spoke about the “progress” on his side of the garage.
“It was a tough race and we [defense]”So it took focus and hard work,” Ricciardo said in his team’s post-race report. “I started well on the outside and was feeling good, but then I ran out of space and had to run wide, which cost me two positions.”
“Once the race started and we settled down I think it went well. The team had a good strategy in the Alps to secure positions and I thought we defended well against Fernando. [Alonso] And Pierre [Gasly] “In the last stint, we made good progress from Barcelona and had a better weekend, so I’m happy to take home some points. Now we’ll try to make even better progress for Silverstone and maybe we can fight for the points again.”
The result came at a time when the Australian driver desperately needed such a result. The week of the Australian Grand Prix began with fresh doubts about Ricciardo’s future in the sport. With Dr Helmut Marko stating that Red Bull shareholders might want a younger driver in the seat (camera pans to Liam Lawson) and prominent F1 journalist Joe Saward speculating that Lawson might take the seat before the summer turns to autumn, it would be an understatement to say Ricciardo was feeling the pressure.
The VCARB driver addressed that pressure on Thursday, saying “performance” – not his trademark smile – is what keeps him sitting on the grid.
On Sunday, Ricciardo again delivered as predicted and as required.
He may want to make a few more predictions.
