Journalist Frederic Ferret has suggested that Visa Cash App RB driver Daniel Ricciardo could retire at the end of the 2024 season if his form doesn’t improve soon.
The pressure is already on the 34-year-old driver heading into his home race after being criticised by Helmut Marko.
Speaking on the F1 Nation Podcast, Ferret suggested that the expectations on the newly-named RB team haven’t been matched by their performances so far this campaign.
Ferret suggests Ricciardo could retire at end of 2024 season
It would be a real surprise to see Daniel Ricciardo step away from Formula 1 after only getting back on the grid halfway through last year.
Not only that, his time in the car was disrupted in 2023 after breaking his hand in Zandvoort.
The Australian has ambitions to finish his career at Red Bull, but at this early stage of the season, it’s hard to see Christian Horner bringing him in to replace Sergio Perez.
The RB car was tipped to bridge the gap between the fastest cars and the rest of the midfield, however, that hasn’t happened yet.
Instead, Yuki Tsunoda has started the season brilliantly while Ricciardo has struggled to get up to speed.
Given the cut-throat nature of Formula 1 – especially within the Red Bull group – you can’t afford not to be at the top of your game every weekend.
Ferret believes Ricciardo could retire at the end of the 2024 season if he doesn’t rediscover his best form quickly.
After struggling to adapt at McLaren and then having to take some time out, the 242-race driver has been questioned.
However, you don’t win eight Grand Prix in Formula 1 without being a very quick driver.
Ricciardo has something to prove heading to Melbourne
Journalist Tom Clarkson asked: “I did want to ask about Daniel Ricciardo. I would say it’s going not quite according to plan at the moment.
“He’s been out-qualified by Yuki Tsunoda in both of the races so far and Yuki I don’t believe is under serious consideration for the senior team next year. So, where does it leave Daniel?”
Ferret responded: “Retirement. If he’s still on this way of driving like he has the last two races, I would say yes because we thought that the new Toro Rosso factory, Racing Bulls, it should have been the car to be beaten because it’s the copy of the RB19.
“But the others made huge progress so it’s still the RB19 but in the middle of the grid and Yuki’s performing better for the first two races so now we’re coming to Australia, we coming to Suzuki, if Daniel is not performing better, it’s going to be tough for him.”
It would be a real surprise to see Ricciardo retire at the end of the 2024 season unless something goes horribly wrong over the next few months.
The 34-year-old has been questioned since the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, but it’s too early in the season to draw any conclusions.
If Ricciardo out-qualifies and then beats Tsunoda on Sunday, suddenly the outlook around the Australian will be a lot more positive.
However, if he wants to drive for Red Bull in 2025 and beyond, he might need Perez’s performances to drop off as well as improve his own.
The post ‘Going to be tough’: 242-race driver could retire at the end of 2024 if his form doesn’t improve – journalist appeared first on F1 Oversteer.