This time last year Daniel Ricciardo’s grand F1 comeback plan was beginning to percolate.
He’d been speculative in taking up the role of Red Bull Racing reserve driver after being sacked by McLaren. It was a role that gave him a chance to evaluate whether he really wanted to continue racing in Formula 1 and, if he did, build himself back up to competitiveness.
By the time May turned to June, it was already clear that he was eager to come back.
AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries, the Formula 2 and Formula E champion who had been expected to lead the team, was floundering alongside Yuki Tsunoda.
Ricciardo, meanwhile, had been teed up to undertake a Pirelli tyre test in a contemporary Red Bull Racing car in the days after the Spain-Austria-UK triple-header.
It’s become part of DR folklore that he set a time around Silverstone quick enough to have put him on the front row at the grand prix alongside Max Verstappen.
It was a slightly disingenuous assessment. The test was on a completely different day in different conditions and with unknown tyre compounds. Direct comparisons were meaningless.
But whatever — Red Bull Racing had the data and found it compelling, and he was parachuted into De Vries’s car for the next race at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Now almost a year on from that pivotal month, however, and the Ricciardo experiment hasn’t quite gone to plan.
Outqualified 2-7 and outraced 2-5 by highly impressive — and freshly re-signed for 2025 — teammate Yuki Tsunoda and sitting with a stubborn 0.15-second deficit on pure pace, the tables are turning on the Perth-born veteran.
Liam Lawson, the Kiwi young gun who impressively stood in for the Aussie for five races last season, is now in the reserve driver position. Not only does he have the express intention of getting onto the grid — much like Ricciardo did last year — but Red Bull has reportedly promised him a seat or will release him to drive elsewhere.
RB is no longer operating with the remit of being Red Bull Racing’s junior team, but its preferred set-up is to mix experience with youth.
With more than a decade in the sport, Ricciardo’s experience is invaluable to the team off the track.
But Tsunoda, who has played barely a false note since his post-race antics at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, is successfully transitioning from young gun to established star. It’s not simply that he’s beating Ricciardo; he’s proving that he has what it takes to make the Aussie surplus to the requirements of the team’s driver line-up.
Suddenly the eight-time race winner’s much-hyped return runs the risk of fizzing to nothing at the end of this year.
And with the wheels of the driver market already turning at pace and with just five rounds to go before the critical mid-season break, Ricciardo’s Formula 1 future is again facing a critical juncture.
Ricciardo ROASTS critics in interview | 02:26
CANADA: FIGHTBACK OR FALSE DAWN?
While Ricciardo’s record against Tsunoda is uninspiring, it’s not been without its highlights. It’s just consistency that’s been lacking.
Things appeared to be moving in the right direction at the Chinese Grand Prix, where he outqualified Tsunoda for a grand prix for the first time this year after receiving a chassis change, but his momentum was rudely halted when he was punted out of the race by Lance Stroll.
He bounced back in Miami, superbly starting and finishing fourth in the sprint, but he bombed out of Q1 qualifying for the grand prix.
He made his first Q3 appearance of the season in Imola but couldn’t score. He likewise left Monaco pointless on an afternoon Tsunoda finished eighth.
But in Canada things came together in way they hadn’t yet before.
Fast from first practice and in all conditions, Ricciardo outqualified and outraced Tsunoda, even overcoming a jump-start penalty — caused by a clutch issue rather than human error — that for a time looked set to condemn him to another bottom-10 finish.
His average qualifying deficit is 0.148 seconds and 2.7 places, but in Montreal he was 0.125 seconds and 3.0 places ahead.
On average he’s been finishing two places behind Tsunoda, but on this occasion he finished six places ahead.
“We’ll obviously keep trying to clean it up, but I think in general, for a race like that, we walked away with some points. All in all, a fairly good weekend from start to finish and I won’t complain,” he said.
“It was nice to — start to finish — keep it on track, keep it steady, keep it smooth. We needed it — of course I needed it.”
“Why is he [Ricciardo] still in F1?” | 00:59
MENTAL CHANGE COULD MAKE THE DIFFERENCE
Some have attempted to connect Ricciardo’s Canadian upturn to Jacques Villeneuve’s increasingly hostile criticism, which peaked during a Sky Sports broadcast on the Friday before the race.
Villeneuve himself has been quick to claim credit. Ironically the Canadian then slammed Ricciardo for having too thin a skin to cop criticism while simultaneously accusing him of making the argument personal.
But F1’s most bizarre — and increasingly sad and bitter — one-sided war of words likely had little to do with it.
For one, the signs of improvement in previous rounds were clear.
But Ricciardo also revealed he’d been on an important journey of “self-therapy” after his disappointing Monaco weekend. He’d opened himself up to constructive criticism from the team, and collectively they decided he was stretched too thin away from the circuit to deliver his best.
“We’ve certainly tried to alter some things,” he said, per The Race.
“Of course the sponsors that are helping us race and pay the bills, we have to give them time, but it’s probably the little five minutes here and five minutes there that maybe we don’t need to be doing.
“Sometimes it’s random stuff. It’s not even that I should be sitting in my room staring at the ceiling. That time could be with the engineers and everyone’s mind can be put at ease that we’ve done our homework and we’re prepared to jump in the car.
“All these little one per cents that just help everyone’s mindset, then when we get into the session we feel like we’re ready to go.”
Of course one good result won’t be enough to save his season, and there have been false dawns in Ricciardo’s comeback before.
In a sport in which you’re only as good as your last race, the next five grands prix will be a crucial test of the sustainability of this upswing and potentially reframe the narrative around this critical season.
“I’ve got to repeat it and back it up to show that or prove it,” he said.
“I definitely am happy with some things that I mentioned [before], that I acknowledged since Monaco, and I really do feel that it’s no coincidence that this weekend went a bit smoother.
“It’s just making sure that we keep on that, keep tapping into it and make sure that I’m holding myself accountable and not getting too relaxed and happy-go-lucky — making sure I keep that edge about me.”
Verstappen too good at slick Canadian GP | 03:17
RB A TEAM ON THE RISE
Exacerbating Ricciardo’s reputational damage this year is RB’s position on the grid.
Take qualifying, for example.
On average Tsunoda is starting 2.67 places ahead, placing the teammates in the middle of the pack — five sets of teammates are separated by bigger gaps, while four are more closely matched. The margin is similar in races.
But on average this season RB is the sixth-quickest car. That puts it constantly on the cusp of qualifying for Q3 and scoring points.
Tsunoda being only a few places ahead has been enough to make the difference in qualifying and finishing in the top 10. The points margin then looks more significant than the gap in performance.
The good news for Ricciardo in this regard is that RB is one of the grid’s most upwardly mobile teams.
Taking an average of just the last five rounds, RB has moved up into fifth place in order of pure pace, making Q3 and points easier to attain and reducing that perceived margin between teammates.
Pace ranking, last five rounds
1. Red Bull Racing: +0.111 seconds
2. McLaren: +0.273 seconds
3. Ferrari: +0.389 seconds
4. Mercedes: +0.398 seconds
5. RB: +0.743 seconds
6. Aston Martin: +0.890 seconds
7. Haas: +1.003 seconds
8. Alpine: +1.056 seconds
9. Williams: +1.112 seconds
10. Sauber: +1.595 seconds
And RB isn’t stopping there, signalling a major upgrade will arrive on both cars this weekend.
“A significant amount of work was put in by Faenza [chassis] and Bicester [aerodynamics] to prepare and deliver an aerodynamic update consisting of a floor, bodywork and rear wing for both cars to provide a measurable performance benefit,” technical director Jody Egginton said.
“The circuit provides a good test of competitor aerodynamics and tyre usage with a good mix of corner speeds, heavy braking and direction changes combined with a long main straight over the 4.65-kilometre lap.”
Germany’s respected Auto Motor und Sport has reported the upgrade package will be the largest of the year — so significant so as to make the VCARB-01 almost unrecognisable.
MORE MOTORSPORT
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Ricciardo suggested he has high expectations for the weekend.
“I think it’s going to be a really competitive weekend,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to keeping this run going, trying to get some more Q3 appearances and points finishes.
“I’ve been waiting a while, but I like to think it’s the start of where my season continues to progress and show performances like I did in Montreal.
“I’m really looking forward to it and excited to get the European leg started.”
Darwin double for Red Bull’s Feeney | 01:13
FIVE ROUNDS TO SET THE TONE
The Red Bull program is famously ruthless when it comes to its driver line-ups, but while the clock is ticking on Ricciardo, there’s no sign yet that he’ll be moved against before the end of the season.
His highs this year have been tantalising enough for the energy drinks brand to keep the faith, hoping he can start to deliver consistently. His off-track contributions are also highly prized.
But just because the threat of another mid-season switch isn’t looming large doesn’t mean that the next five races aren’t of immense importance.
More than half the season will have been completed by the time the sport adjourns for the mid-season break at the end of July. Only 10 will remain.
Line-up decisions may not have yet been finalised, but the tone will have been set. If Ricciardo hasn’t been able to convince by then, it’s hard to believe he ever will.
Lawson isn’t nailed on for 2025 — Red Bull’s ruthless reputation cuts both ways — but he’ll be an irresistible proposition if Ricciardo continues struggling for consistency.
The Aussie has one chance left.
“What’s good is obviously I still have the ability to do some pretty cool things, pretty special, or whatever,” he said, per The Race.
“It’s just making sure that that is me unconditionally, and it’s not just, ‘Oh, when I’m feeling good’, or when conditions are right.
“I’ve just got to keep it rolling. That little [extra] energy, probably with a bit of a chip on my shoulder, I brought into the weekend, I’ve got to make sure that stays there. Try to keep that level of intensity.
“If I need to be a bit angry or get my testosterone up, I think it helps me.”
With the one-year anniversary of his comeback looming, Ricciardo is running out of time to make the most of it.
Daniel Ricciardo’s comeback on the clock after Canada renaissance, driver market, silly season, Liam Lawson, Yuki Tsunoda – MASHAHER
This time last year Daniel Ricciardo’s grand F1 comeback plan was beginning to percolate.
He’d been speculative in taking up the role of Red Bull Racing reserve driver after being sacked by McLaren. It was a role that gave him a chance to evaluate whether he really wanted to continue racing in Formula 1 and, if he did, build himself back up to competitiveness.
By the time May turned to June, it was already clear that he was eager to come back.
Every qualifying session and race from the 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship™ LIVE in 4K. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial Today >
His timing was fortuitous.
AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries, the Formula 2 and Formula E champion who had been expected to lead the team, was floundering alongside Yuki Tsunoda.
Ricciardo, meanwhile, had been teed up to undertake a Pirelli tyre test in a contemporary Red Bull Racing car in the days after the Spain-Austria-UK triple-header.
It’s become part of DR folklore that he set a time around Silverstone quick enough to have put him on the front row at the grand prix alongside Max Verstappen.
It was a slightly disingenuous assessment. The test was on a completely different day in different conditions and with unknown tyre compounds. Direct comparisons were meaningless.
But whatever — Red Bull Racing had the data and found it compelling, and he was parachuted into De Vries’s car for the next race at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Now almost a year on from that pivotal month, however, and the Ricciardo experiment hasn’t quite gone to plan.
Outqualified 2-7 and outraced 2-5 by highly impressive — and freshly re-signed for 2025 — teammate Yuki Tsunoda and sitting with a stubborn 0.15-second deficit on pure pace, the tables are turning on the Perth-born veteran.
Liam Lawson, the Kiwi young gun who impressively stood in for the Aussie for five races last season, is now in the reserve driver position. Not only does he have the express intention of getting onto the grid — much like Ricciardo did last year — but Red Bull has reportedly promised him a seat or will release him to drive elsewhere.
RB is no longer operating with the remit of being Red Bull Racing’s junior team, but its preferred set-up is to mix experience with youth.
With more than a decade in the sport, Ricciardo’s experience is invaluable to the team off the track.
But Tsunoda, who has played barely a false note since his post-race antics at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, is successfully transitioning from young gun to established star. It’s not simply that he’s beating Ricciardo; he’s proving that he has what it takes to make the Aussie surplus to the requirements of the team’s driver line-up.
Suddenly the eight-time race winner’s much-hyped return runs the risk of fizzing to nothing at the end of this year.
And with the wheels of the driver market already turning at pace and with just five rounds to go before the critical mid-season break, Ricciardo’s Formula 1 future is again facing a critical juncture.
Ricciardo ROASTS critics in interview | 02:26
CANADA: FIGHTBACK OR FALSE DAWN?
While Ricciardo’s record against Tsunoda is uninspiring, it’s not been without its highlights. It’s just consistency that’s been lacking.
Things appeared to be moving in the right direction at the Chinese Grand Prix, where he outqualified Tsunoda for a grand prix for the first time this year after receiving a chassis change, but his momentum was rudely halted when he was punted out of the race by Lance Stroll.
He bounced back in Miami, superbly starting and finishing fourth in the sprint, but he bombed out of Q1 qualifying for the grand prix.
He made his first Q3 appearance of the season in Imola but couldn’t score. He likewise left Monaco pointless on an afternoon Tsunoda finished eighth.
But in Canada things came together in way they hadn’t yet before.
Fast from first practice and in all conditions, Ricciardo outqualified and outraced Tsunoda, even overcoming a jump-start penalty — caused by a clutch issue rather than human error — that for a time looked set to condemn him to another bottom-10 finish.
His average qualifying deficit is 0.148 seconds and 2.7 places, but in Montreal he was 0.125 seconds and 3.0 places ahead.
On average he’s been finishing two places behind Tsunoda, but on this occasion he finished six places ahead.
“We’ll obviously keep trying to clean it up, but I think in general, for a race like that, we walked away with some points. All in all, a fairly good weekend from start to finish and I won’t complain,” he said.
“It was nice to — start to finish — keep it on track, keep it steady, keep it smooth. We needed it — of course I needed it.”
“Why is he [Ricciardo] still in F1?” | 00:59
MENTAL CHANGE COULD MAKE THE DIFFERENCE
Some have attempted to connect Ricciardo’s Canadian upturn to Jacques Villeneuve’s increasingly hostile criticism, which peaked during a Sky Sports broadcast on the Friday before the race.
Villeneuve himself has been quick to claim credit. Ironically the Canadian then slammed Ricciardo for having too thin a skin to cop criticism while simultaneously accusing him of making the argument personal.
But F1’s most bizarre — and increasingly sad and bitter — one-sided war of words likely had little to do with it.
For one, the signs of improvement in previous rounds were clear.
But Ricciardo also revealed he’d been on an important journey of “self-therapy” after his disappointing Monaco weekend. He’d opened himself up to constructive criticism from the team, and collectively they decided he was stretched too thin away from the circuit to deliver his best.
“We’ve certainly tried to alter some things,” he said, per The Race.
“Of course the sponsors that are helping us race and pay the bills, we have to give them time, but it’s probably the little five minutes here and five minutes there that maybe we don’t need to be doing.
“Sometimes it’s random stuff. It’s not even that I should be sitting in my room staring at the ceiling. That time could be with the engineers and everyone’s mind can be put at ease that we’ve done our homework and we’re prepared to jump in the car.
“All these little one per cents that just help everyone’s mindset, then when we get into the session we feel like we’re ready to go.”
Of course one good result won’t be enough to save his season, and there have been false dawns in Ricciardo’s comeback before.
In a sport in which you’re only as good as your last race, the next five grands prix will be a crucial test of the sustainability of this upswing and potentially reframe the narrative around this critical season.
“I’ve got to repeat it and back it up to show that or prove it,” he said.
“I definitely am happy with some things that I mentioned [before], that I acknowledged since Monaco, and I really do feel that it’s no coincidence that this weekend went a bit smoother.
“It’s just making sure that we keep on that, keep tapping into it and make sure that I’m holding myself accountable and not getting too relaxed and happy-go-lucky — making sure I keep that edge about me.”
Verstappen too good at slick Canadian GP | 03:17
RB A TEAM ON THE RISE
Exacerbating Ricciardo’s reputational damage this year is RB’s position on the grid.
Take qualifying, for example.
On average Tsunoda is starting 2.67 places ahead, placing the teammates in the middle of the pack — five sets of teammates are separated by bigger gaps, while four are more closely matched. The margin is similar in races.
But on average this season RB is the sixth-quickest car. That puts it constantly on the cusp of qualifying for Q3 and scoring points.
Tsunoda being only a few places ahead has been enough to make the difference in qualifying and finishing in the top 10. The points margin then looks more significant than the gap in performance.
The good news for Ricciardo in this regard is that RB is one of the grid’s most upwardly mobile teams.
Taking an average of just the last five rounds, RB has moved up into fifth place in order of pure pace, making Q3 and points easier to attain and reducing that perceived margin between teammates.
Pace ranking, last five rounds
1. Red Bull Racing: +0.111 seconds
2. McLaren: +0.273 seconds
3. Ferrari: +0.389 seconds
4. Mercedes: +0.398 seconds
5. RB: +0.743 seconds
6. Aston Martin: +0.890 seconds
7. Haas: +1.003 seconds
8. Alpine: +1.056 seconds
9. Williams: +1.112 seconds
10. Sauber: +1.595 seconds
And RB isn’t stopping there, signalling a major upgrade will arrive on both cars this weekend.
“A significant amount of work was put in by Faenza [chassis] and Bicester [aerodynamics] to prepare and deliver an aerodynamic update consisting of a floor, bodywork and rear wing for both cars to provide a measurable performance benefit,” technical director Jody Egginton said.
“The circuit provides a good test of competitor aerodynamics and tyre usage with a good mix of corner speeds, heavy braking and direction changes combined with a long main straight over the 4.65-kilometre lap.”
Germany’s respected Auto Motor und Sport has reported the upgrade package will be the largest of the year — so significant so as to make the VCARB-01 almost unrecognisable.
MORE MOTORSPORT
‘NOT LIKE HIM AT ALL’: Sad warning signs that spelt ‘trouble’ for Aussie MotoGP star
‘HOW COULD WE HAVE BEEN SO DUMB?’ F1 giant finds car’s fatal flaw as blowtorch on star drivers
F1 2026: Inside the looming battle over F1’s divisive rules shake-up as worrying Red Bull rumour emerges
Ricciardo suggested he has high expectations for the weekend.
“I think it’s going to be a really competitive weekend,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to keeping this run going, trying to get some more Q3 appearances and points finishes.
“I’ve been waiting a while, but I like to think it’s the start of where my season continues to progress and show performances like I did in Montreal.
“I’m really looking forward to it and excited to get the European leg started.”
Darwin double for Red Bull’s Feeney | 01:13
FIVE ROUNDS TO SET THE TONE
The Red Bull program is famously ruthless when it comes to its driver line-ups, but while the clock is ticking on Ricciardo, there’s no sign yet that he’ll be moved against before the end of the season.
His highs this year have been tantalising enough for the energy drinks brand to keep the faith, hoping he can start to deliver consistently. His off-track contributions are also highly prized.
But just because the threat of another mid-season switch isn’t looming large doesn’t mean that the next five races aren’t of immense importance.
More than half the season will have been completed by the time the sport adjourns for the mid-season break at the end of July. Only 10 will remain.
Line-up decisions may not have yet been finalised, but the tone will have been set. If Ricciardo hasn’t been able to convince by then, it’s hard to believe he ever will.
Lawson isn’t nailed on for 2025 — Red Bull’s ruthless reputation cuts both ways — but he’ll be an irresistible proposition if Ricciardo continues struggling for consistency.
The Aussie has one chance left.
“What’s good is obviously I still have the ability to do some pretty cool things, pretty special, or whatever,” he said, per The Race.
“It’s just making sure that that is me unconditionally, and it’s not just, ‘Oh, when I’m feeling good’, or when conditions are right.
“I’ve just got to keep it rolling. That little [extra] energy, probably with a bit of a chip on my shoulder, I brought into the weekend, I’ve got to make sure that stays there. Try to keep that level of intensity.
“If I need to be a bit angry or get my testosterone up, I think it helps me.”
With the one-year anniversary of his comeback looming, Ricciardo is running out of time to make the most of it.
Source Agencies