Daniel Ricciardo, an Australian driver for the RB Formula 1 team, had a successful performance in the Miami Grand Prix Sprint. Despite a slow start to the season, Ricciardo was able to secure fourth place in the race, thanks to improvements made by the team to address his concerns. Ricciardo had been facing challenges from his teammate Yuki Tsunoda, but with a change in chassis and improved performance, he was able to compete for points in China until an incident with Lance Stroll. In the truncated Sprint race, Ricciardo defended his position against Carlos Sainz and Oscar Piastri to achieve a breakthrough result. Laurent Mekies, the RB Formula 1 boss, expressed his relief and praised Ricciardo’s performance, highlighting the significance of the race being held in the US, which is like a second home race for Ricciardo. Mekies also mentioned that the team had been seeing gradual improvements in Ricciardo’s performance and planned to continue making adjustments to better suit the car to his needs. The team had identified and addressed issues that were affecting Ricciardo’s pace, and they are still working to understand and resolve any remaining concerns. The introduction of a new chassis before the sixth race was part of the team’s plan to enhance Ricciardo’s comfort and performance, and it proved to be a positive step in China and Miami. The team values their ability to analyze and address drivers’ concerns, even if they may not be immediately apparent from the data. They are committed to ongoing progress in supporting Ricciardo and optimizing his performance in future races.
Ricciardo was unable to replicate his earlier success during the remainder of the weekend due to difficulties with the tires, resulting in his elimination in Q1 and a 15th-place finish. According to Mekies, this stark contrast in performance highlights the narrow margins within the tightly contested midfield group. He emphasized the need to excel in every aspect of the weekend, as a failure to do so would result in an immediate elimination from Q1. Mekies also praised Ricciardo’s strong showing in the Sprint qualifying and Sprint race, but acknowledged that a slight error in the main qualifying session led to their elimination. This intense pressure to perform at a high level is what Mekies finds appealing about racing, with only 10 to 12 cars fiercely battling for position.