Ricciardo SLAMS his Car after poor start to 2024…

By Joe Murphy

Daniel Ricciardo has revealed that his RB car is not meeting the expectations of both him and his teammate, as the pair endured a second pointless season in a row. The Australian suffered in Jeddah in particular, having pit stop issues, a penalty and even a spin in a single Grand Prix. What’s worse though, when all that was done, he still couldn’t catch Logan Sergeant in the Williams. A car of a similar pace, if not worse off.

With a comprehensive testing turnout and two race weekends down the line, the RB team has picked out weaknesses with its VCARB 01 design, as per Ricciardo: “Honestly, we found a few things over the course of the weekend. Ithink it was always going to be an uphill battle. We simply don’t have everything functioning at 100%. We see a few flaws, honestly, with the car.”

On reflection, the man who has raced for Renault, Red Bull and McLaren blamed misfortune for exaserbating issues in Saudi Arabia; “The race itself, safety car, everyone pitted, and we had a really slow stop. Then we’re in that train. At the end, then just to make sure, I made my mistake as well, I had a spin at Turn 1.”

While Yuki Tsunoda across the garage was clear that a lack of grip was the issue, Ricciardo did not specify the exact nature of the problems the team have found, he highlighted the struggles producing overall “efficiency” that has seen RB be unable to improve as strongly as rival teams. This gap only grew across the days of the Grand Prix weekend and this is something that cannot continue otherwise RB will find themselves cut off away from everyone.

Ricciardo continued: “Honestly, some things with the car. Like just when it comes to producing efficiency and everything, just a few things didn’t quite add up.

A week away from his home race return in Melbourne next weekend, Ricciardo concluded that there is light at the end of the tunnel, reinforcing the idea that the team are capable of ironing out the wrinkles and can then start battling for lower level points. Let’s be honest, it’s about where this car should be. Daniel also stated that he is happy with the team, to clarify any doubts over his future with the outfit.