RB asserts Daniel Ricciardo’s form a ‘good problem to have’ despite future uncertainty
Laurent Mekies asserts Daniel Ricciardo's struggles during the first half of the season is a good problem to have for RB.
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Daniel Ricciardo (Via: Imago)
The first half of the 2024 season was a tough run for Daniel Ricciardo. He had been less prominent to his teammate Yuki Tsunoda earning only 12 points in the first 14 races. Tsunoda clinched 22 points and raced impressively despite having less experience than the Aussie. However, RB’s team principal Laurent Mekies asserted the 35-year-old’s tough run is a good consequence for the team.
Laurent Mekies is currently dealing with his first big decisions about the team’s driver lineup as a team principal. Mekies stated that Daniel Ricciardo‘s current patchy form is a positive one, although it’s challenging. He acknowledged that the solution for this problem is needed to find quickly, and with other drivers in Red Bull it’s a good problem to have. He mentioned that while they have three skilled drivers, they only have two race seats available.
We kept saying that the simple truth is that [Ricciardo's form] is a very good problem to have. Yes, we have three skilled drivers. Do we only have two race seats? Yes.Laurent Mekies said, as reported by RacingNews365
Mekies explained that there is no immediate rush to make a decision about the driver lineup unless discussing it with Red Bull. He clarified that the team has been consistent in saying throughout the year that they would discuss the situation during the summer break. However, with the break just one week away from ending and the second half starting in Zandvoort, they still have not announced a decision.
Are we in a rush to make the call, no. That is what we have been saying all year long, we said we will have a chat in the summer break.Laurent Mekies added.
Laurent Mekies asserts Daniel Ricciardo has greatly helped the team despite his performance slump.
Laurent Mekies stated that Daniel Ricciardo has greatly contributed to improving the team’s performance. He also mentioned that along with Ricciardo, Liam Lawson’s efforts behind the scenes have been very beneficial. Lawson helped with testing and preparation using simulation technology before moving on to attend actual races. Both of these factors have been enjoyable and noticeable as the team returned to Europe for the season. Mekies highlighted that Ricciardo’s contributions and Lawson’s hard work were important reasons why the team had been performing well recently.
Daniel has helped to massively put us up and Liam with the work in the background is one of the things that we have been enjoying when we returned to Europe. We could use Liam in the simulator and then he could fly to the race.Laurent Mekies stated.
Certainly, Laurent Mekies and his team have not yet revealed their future plans with Ricciardo. RB is set to enter second phase of the season with the same lineup. Fans hope the sister team of Red Bull performs better than the previous 14 races of the season.
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Gaurang Kadam
(535 Articles Published)