Daniel Ricciardo delivered a much-needed upturn in performance for RB at the Canadian Grand Prix last weekend. He came home in eighth place to net four valuable points.
Ricciardo hadn’t scored points on a Sunday at any race all season. Heading into Montreal, his only return was in the Miami Sprint, when he finished a brilliant fourth.
But the Australian put himself in an excellent position in qualifying when he grabbed P5, RB’s highest grid slot of the season. While he lost some ground in the Grand Prix, it was still crucial that he ended a three-race scoring drought.
Bucking the trend this season, Yuki Tsunoda faltered in the other car. Tsunoda qualified a strong eighth and was on course for points himself before a spin at the end of sector two ruined his race.
During the weekend, RB announced that they had taken up the option to extend the Japanese driver’s deal. Tsunoda, who’s still responsible for 19 of their 28 points, was out of contract at the end of the year.
The future remains uncertain for Ricciardo, however. He would have hoped to secure a return to Red Bull but those hopes have already been dashed after Sergio Perez penned a new deal.
Giedo van der Garde can’t understand Daniel Ricciardo race-start tactic
Ricciardo had to overcome an early five-second penalty and a poor start during the race. His RB car was rolling forward in its grid box, which triggered an automatic sanction.
The Australian wasn’t at fault, but he struggled through the first couple of corners. Fernando Alonso crept around the outside through turn one, and Lewis Hamilton got by as Ricciardo slid wide at the next corner.
Speaking on De Race Show, former F1 driver Giedo van der Garde flagged up something ‘very strange’ he saw in the onboards of both RB cars. They pulled away in first gear rather than second.
Of course, this is standard fare for dry conditions. But drivers will often select second for a wet start in the hope of minimising wheelspin.
“Everyone chooses second gear except for V-CARB,” Van der Garde said. “I thought it was crazy. I thought that was very strange and you also saw that they had a bad start.”
Ricciardo at risk of losing F1 seat to Liam Lawson during summer break
Ricciardo delivered an instant response after stinging criticism from 1997 F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, who questioned why he was still in F1 in a viral rant. Christian Horner says that only had the effect of motivating the 34-year-old.
But this result will ultimately mean little if Ricciardo can’t replicate it consistently. Two points finishes in nine races isn’t good enough when you consider that Tsunoda has delivered five.
Indeed, he still faces the threat of losing his seat to reserve driver Liam Lawson during the summer break. ‘It looks like’ the New Zealander could be in the car for the second half of the season, but Ricciardo could save his career by using Montreal as a launchpad.
Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle wishes that he’d never taken the decision to leave Red Bull back in 2018. He believes it was an ’emotional’ and ‘flawed’ move that changed the course of his career.
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