RB team principal Laurent Mekies says the onus is on his outfit to provide Danial Ricciardo with “what he needs” to perform to his full potential.
Ricciardo has struggled to consistently match teammate Yuki Tsunoda this season, scoring only 9 points compared to Tsunoda's 19.
While there have been flashes of outperformance – like in Miami and last weekend in Canada – the inconsistency displayed by the Australian driver has left pundits questioning his future in F1.
Last weekend in Montreal, Jacques Villeneuve offered a brutal assessment of Ricciardo’s situation, questioning his presence on the grid and accusing the F1 veteran of making excuses to justify his lack of results.
Mekies acknowledges Ricciardo's struggles but also highlights moments like his strong qualifying performance and points finish in Canada as evidence of the driver's still strong potential.
Furthermore, the RB team boss feels that its up to the Faenza outfit to create the right environment for Ricciardo to perform.
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“We are focused on making sure that Daniel can perform at his best,” Mekies told RACER. “And I think this weekend, as much as Miami and as much as perhaps China, are a good reminder to all of us of how high a performance Daniel can provide if he’s in the right window, if we give him what he needs.
“It’s our responsibility as a team to have that focus, and that’s what we are thinking all day long.
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“So if you ask me now what are we thinking right now? We are thinking every day, every hour, every minute, let’s try to make sure we lock in that window for him, and get the results out.
“And it’s a bit like Yuki – if you do that then it means you are impossible to ignore. If you don’t do that, it means we haven’t managed – as a group – to do what we were supposed to do.”
While Tsunoda has been confirmed by RB for 2025, there has been no such endorsement regarding Ricciardo. Red Bull is expected to make a call over the summer on RB’s second seat for next season, with Ricciardo and talented reserve driver Liam Lawson the main contenders for the drive.
However, Christian Horner has made clear that Ricciardo will have to “work hard” to remain on the grid in 2025.
“I think Daniel has had an up and down start to the year,” the Red Bull chief told Sky Sports in Canada.
“He knows he has to deliver. He knew he hadn’t done enough to warrant a seat in the senior team for next year.
“There’s still plenty of time,” the Briton added.
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“We’ve got Daniel, whose obviously got a great deal of experience and I think what you can’t ignore that his experience has definitely benefitted Yuki, because there’s some real engineering direction in there and I think there’s really helped that time.
“We’ve got some great young talent coming through in Formula 2, we’ve got Isack Hadjar knocking on the door.
“He’s [Ricciardo] going to have to work hard to retain that seat, if that's what he wants to do.
“Liam [Lawson] as well, he’s another really valid member of the team. He’s champing at the bit, glued to every session. And we know what he’s capable of. So there’s always pressure on the incumbent drivers.”
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