RB: The entire team is to blame for Ricciardo not clicking

RB Formula 1 team principal Laurent Mackies has said the team takes collective responsibility for failing to make Daniel Ricciardo’s final stint at the team a success.

Last summer he was given a second chance by Red Bull as an experienced back-up option to potentially replace Ricciardo sergio perez In the main team.

His starting RB cameo in 2023, replacing poor performances Nick de VriesWas derailed due to arm injury in a practice accident at the Dutch Grand Prix.

But despite benefiting from a full off-season to prepare for 2024, the experienced Australian is still finding it difficult to produce consistent performances at VCARB 01. Ricciardo showed glimpses of his old self at times, including a spectacular sprint race in Miami. 4th place, but generally performed better yuki tsunoda In the team.

Since Ricciardo was no longer meeting the criteria for a possible return to Red Bull, the team ultimately decided to drop him after the Singapore Grand Prix for reserve driver. Liam LawsonWhich has since done much to convince Red Bull that He is a better choice than Tsunoda to be Max Verstappen’s new teammate From 2025.

Reflecting on why things didn’t work out with Ricciardo, RB team boss Mackies said the team is collectively taking responsibility for not being able to give the 35-year-old a car in which he could compete. He could create momentum.

Speaking exclusively to Motorsport.com, Mackies said: “The question we’ve been asked most was: ‘Can Daniel still produce the ultimate speed that we’ve seen?’ I think he produced, on a few occasions, in Miami, in Canada (fifth in qualifying) and a few other races, the great speed that has brought him race wins in the past.

“But for the team, for the drivers, the biggest difficulty is not to be fast one day. It’s to be fast every race. Did we manage to put Daniel in that sweet spot more often? No, that’s the reality. I Raised our hands and we raised our hands as a team because we have a big role to play in this and that’s what made it happen.”

Indirectly, Ricciardo’s difficulties benefited his replacement Lawson as well as Tsunade, as the team worked through each data point to find solutions for them, thereby matching the set discovered by the Anglo-Italian team with its drivers. -The scope of up options increased.

“We have examined a large portion of the car envelope with Daniel,” Mekies said. “It’s a never-ending process. You do that every time you have a new update, or every time you have a new feature. But certainly, Daniel pushed us to push that envelope.” “, and it gave the engineering team a very good background as to what the car would and wouldn’t do.”

Mackies also praised Ricciardo’s contribution to the team’s development work, as his experience helped RB make technical restructuring throughout the year.

“Daniel was a huge benefit to the team and to Yuki in terms of his technical response, direction of development, approach to winning races,” said Mackies. “Having someone who knows what it takes to be in a team that wins races, that fights for championships, is setting the bar and it means a lot when you’re trying to build a team and get better results.” Trying to set a goal.

“That benefit has been huge, also in terms of understanding of the car and development of the car. And I think Yuki is developing a good relationship with Daniel to the extent that he is able to absorb a lot of that and push himself further. That area is capable of increasing.”