Has Ricciardo finally started his season?

Was it Ricciardo had been buried too soon? The Australian is not having a very good start to the season and many observers of the Formula 1 are already demanding his departure, after only five Grands Prix. At a press conference, just before the start of the Chinese weekend, Christian Horner wanted to defend his protégé.

“It’s still early, isn’t it? (to take stock, Editor’s note) ? His season hasn't really started yet. He had some difficulties. And I think, he himself feels like he's underperformed so far. But we are only in the fifth race. It's a track (China, Editor’s note) which he has always been strong on, he won here for us in a big way in 2018, so let's see how things go. »

Finally in front of Tsunoda

Outrageously dominated by his teammate Yuki Tsunoda Since the start of the 2024 financial year, the man with eight victories in F1 seems to have regained momentum on the Shanghai international circuit. Over this weekend, he has so far always been ahead of the Japanese: 14th in the Sprint qualifying when his teammate was 19th, 11th in the race when tsunoda finished 16th, and for Grand Prix qualifying, the Australian ranked 12th, while the native of Kanagawa could not do better than 19th position.

“This was my best weekend of the year so far, rejoices Daniel Ricciardo. We changed the chassis and I feel the car better, I have more confidence in it. We had a lot of fun this morning (Saturday, Editor’s note), some positive points to remember, and some learnings for the main race. I was happy with my qualifying lap and I feel like there wasn't much more to it. »

 

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In a good position for tomorrow, Honey Badger sees herself entering the points for the first time: “I can't wait to start running again tomorrow (Sunday, Editor's note). The Sprint was encouraging, so I hope we can show a little more on the long runs. I think 12th place is a good starting point and offers the opportunity to try to catch up with those ahead and pick up some points. »

To say that Daniel Ricciardo's season is finally underway even before the end of the weekend in China is obviously a hasty conclusion, just like saying that he no longer has a place in Formula 1. The main race is going to be extremely important ; she must give him confidence but also in the match against his teammate. It's now up to him to showcase his talent on the track and prove to us that this good weekend in Shanghai is not an anomaly in the matrix.

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