Daniel Ricciardo gives ‘not so much result-driven’ update on his F1 future

As fresh rumours emerge about his F1 future, Daniel Ricciardo insists he wants to continue in Formula 1 into 2025, even if it means staying on at RB.

Ricciardo is one of seven drivers yet to get off the mark this season but while for some, it’s fair to say, that’s expected, for the Honey Badger it is not.

Daniel Ricciardo open to 2025 RB seat with RBR options fading

The eight-time Grand Prix winner was widely tipped to be RB’s lead driver and get a march over his team-mate Yuki Tsunoda but instead it is the other way around.

Tsunoda has out-qualified and out-scored Ricciardo, the latter tally being 0-7.

It has meant that while Tsunoda has been applauded by Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko for his maturity, questions have been asked about Ricciardo and whether he’ll hold onto his RB seat, never mind replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull next season.

But with the latter option fading, and fast, Ricciardo says he wouldn’t have an issue about spending another year on the grid with Red Bull’s sister team.

“As I feel today, yes,” he told Speedcafe. “I’m enjoying the driving now; it’s not so much result-driven.

“Obviously, I don’t want to just be here to be here; I want to earn that seat and the team is hopefully further up. So yeah, I guess it goes both ways. I mean, the answer is yes.

“But is it more fun fighting at the front? Is it more fun fighting for podiums and wins? Absolutely.

“And the truth is, if I draw a line under it and I speak about myself in the third person: Why did Daniel Ricciardo return after a few months off last year? Because I believe I can stand on the podium again. I can win races again. Ultimately, that is it.

“The belief is there… As long as that belief is still there, I think I’ll be happy being here. But when I eventually do hang it up, I would love to have stood on the podium a few more times.”

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This week, though, there are again rumours that Ricciardo’s RB seat is on the line with an Italian publication claiming he has until the summer break to prove his worth.

This comes just weeks after it was denied that he had until Miami to save his seat or else RB would put Liam Lawson in the car.

But without a doubt a driver under pressure, Ricciardo says that doesn’t play heavily on his mind.

“I want to make people proud and I want people that support me to feel proud of what’s going on,” he said.

“It’s not even proving anything; it’s just that you want to remind people – I want to remind some people that two races are not career-defining.

“I’m not in a bad place. I’m not coming from a lack of confidence. Just all this, whatever, it’s like yeah, you want to remind…

“In 2018, on my helmet for a little bit, I put some messages on the back of my helmet. I had ‘remind these cats’.

“People forget, you know… I want to prove it to myself that I can do stuff like I did in Mexico last year, just on a consistent basis.”

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