Daniel Ricciardo has acknowledged that RB still needs to address the shortcomings of its Formula 1 car, even after implementing upgrades during the Belgian Grand Prix weekend.
The Australian driver has regained his competitive edge in recent races, securing three points finishes out of the last six events after initially finding it difficult to keep up with teammate Yuki Tsunoda.
His early-season challenges sparked speculation about a potential replacement within the team, with Liam Lawson poised to step in after his impressive performance last season. However, Ricciardo’s recent improvements have also placed him in consideration to take over from Sergio Perez at Red Bull.
Neither option has materialized following Red Bull’s review during the summer break, and Ricciardo has maintained focus on his responsibilities, concluding before the break with an 11th place finish at Spa.
His position ultimately became a points-paying one after Mercedes driver George Russell was disqualified for having an underweight car.
This was a positive result for RB, which introduced updates to the car for the race weekend as they aim to narrow the gap in the midfield competition, extending a four-race points streak for both drivers and solidifying sixth place in the constructors’ standings.
However, discussing the adjustments made to the car, Ricciardo indicated that further work is necessary as some inherent issues remain unresolved.
“I still feel like our strengths lie more in the lower-speed sections, while our weaknesses are evident in the higher-speed segments,” he explained.
Daniel Ricciardo, RB F1 Team
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
“I think we still need to work a bit on our high-speed performance, but we seem to be handling the tighter, twistier sections quite well,” he stated.
“So, it’s likely the same characteristics; perhaps I’ll need to add some weight during the break to help with that.”
Reflecting on his race before Russell’s disqualification came to light, Ricciardo remarked, “I wasn’t entirely certain of my standing during the race,” but he felt confident about scoring points until he was overtaken by Alpine’s Esteban Ocon in the later stages.
“I really thought we could have finished in the points,” he said.
“When I saw Ocon behind me, that’s when I realized I was in 10th, and I thought I might have been in 9th. I knew keeping him behind would be a challenge.”
“He was strong all weekend and had fresher tires.”
“We had a solid race; I just think some other drivers also performed exceptionally well.”
