Daniel Ricciardo claims he’s not letting ‘negative stuff creep in’ after being outperformed by Yuki Tsunoda at Australian GP

Daniel Ricciardo has failed to outperform Yuki Tsunoda for two races in a row after an underwhelming weekend at the Australian GP.

Daniel Ricciardo claims he’s not letting ‘negative stuff creep in’ after being outperformed by Yuki Tsunoda at Australian GP

Yuki Tsunoda (L), Daniel Ricciardo (R) (images via IMAGO).

Daniel Ricciardo‘s disappointing 2024 campaign continued at his home race at Albert Park. The 34-year-old was once again off the pace of teammate Yuki Tsunoda. The Japanese driver opened the points tally of VisaCashAppRB with an impressive seventh place at the Australian GP. While Ricciardo could only manage a P12 result. Now, the Australian driver has made it clear that he remains focused on himself.

The 8-time race winner claimed that he was on a journey this season as he tries to re-establish himself on the grid. Daniel Ricciardo highlighted that he needed to keep focusing on himself in the coming weeks. The Australian driver claimed that if he let the outside ‘noise’ get into his head, then his performances would get affected from such a distraction.

I know that I'm on this little process or journey at the moment.  just need to focus on myself. I think if I let any of the noise in, it's going to distract me from the path I'm on.
Daniel Ricciardo said, as reported by RacingNews365
YouTube video

Moreover, Ricciardo reckoned that he had been successful in avoiding such distractions. The 34-year-old claimed that no negative thoughts had creeped into his mind so far. Previously, Daniel Ricciardo mentioned that Helmut Marko’s criticism did not affect him as he continued to have faith in himself regarding his potential.

FS Video
I think it's been really good I haven't let any of that negative stuff creep in.
Ricciardo asserted

Daniel Ricciardo admits poor 2024 start was ‘unexpected’

Ricciardo returned to the F1 grid after replacing Nyck de Vries mid-way through 2023. The Australian driver was then given the VisaCashAppRB seat full time for this season. The 34-year-old has his eyes set on a future promotion to Red Bull Racing in place of Sergio Perez. However, the recent results could limit the Honey Badger’s prospects at Milton Keynes.

Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo (Via: Imago)

Daniel Ricciardo admitted that he did not expect to have such a start to this season. The 34-year-old claimed that he hoped for a much stronger start considering having tested the car in pre-season. However, the Australian driver made it clear that he was not letting any nonsense get into his head and was going to stay on course for his goals.

I didn't expect to start the season like this... Then having a full pre-season [this year] and all the races last year, I honestly thought that this year, we would start a lot stronger... The important thing is that I stay on course, not that my head is filled with nonsense or anything.
Daniel Ricciardo stated

Certainly, Daniel Ricciardo needs to improve his results in the coming races. The Australian driver cannot afford to be outperformed by Yuki Tsunoda if he wants the seat at Milton Keynes. However, it seems that the 34-year-old simply lacked the pace of his Japanese teammate so far this year. Fans would be hoping to see Ricciardo bounce back after another underwhelming race weekend.

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