Daniel Ricciardo had previously expressed doubts about his performance due to the VCARB-01 chassis.
The Australian driver has had a disappointing start to the 2024 F1 season, failing to meet expectations for RB in the first four races. The Red Bull sister team will be introducing a new car for Ricciardo, an 8-time race winner, at the Chinese GP. RB Sporting Director has revealed the true reason behind this decision.
Earlier, Ricciardo had suggested that a new chassis could provide him with peace of mind amidst his recent struggles. The 34-year-old had mentioned that different cars yielded different results during his time with McLaren. However, it was made clear that a new chassis would not significantly impact performance.
Permane stated that it was somewhat coincidental that the Italian team had a chassis ready for the occasion. Additionally, the RB Sporting Director emphasized that it made sense to give the new car to Daniel Ricciardo instead of someone else, as the Japanese driver had consistently outperformed his Australian counterpart this year. However, it was asserted that the new chassis was not being brought in response to Ricciardo’s underwhelming results.
Ricciardo had a difficult weekend in Suzuka, being eliminated in Q1 for exceeding track limits and ultimately crashing out on the first lap. Recently, it was claimed that Daniel Ricciardo had taken a cautious approach at the start of the race. Meanwhile, Yuki Tsunoda achieved his first points on his home track in F1.
Alan Permane stated that Ricciardo made a mistake during Qualifying at the . The RB Sporting Director noted that if the Australian driver had not exceeded track limits, he could have had a successful weekend. Permane pointed out that Ricciardo had the pace to outperform the Haas cars and secure valuable points for the team if he had performed well on Saturday.
“He [Daniel Ricciardo] made a mistake, but if he had not crossed the white line during qualifying, he would have had a fantastic weekend… He certainly had the race pace to beat the Haas cars and score points.”
Daniel Ricciardo urgently needs to recover from a series of poor results this season. The 8-time race winner must score points in the upcoming races and outperform Tsunoda to secure his future in F1. Therefore, fans hope that the new RB chassis will assist the Australian driver during the Chinese GP in just over a week’s time.