‘When people say things, I tend to have a decent weekend!’ – Ricciardo ready to answer his critics on track

Daniel Ricciardo reckons his best weekends often seem to follow on from when others have made critical comments about his performances, and insists he’s ready to make the critics eat their words and prove he deserves his seat on the grid as his RB future remains up in the air.

Having been outscored by RB team mate Yuki Tsunoda so far in 2024, Ricciardo came under fire from former world champion Jacques Villeneuve ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix. While working as a pundit on Sky Sports F1, Villeneuve questioned why the 35-year-old was “still in F1”.

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Ricciardo subsequently went on to claim an impressive P5 on the grid in Montreal before scoring points on Sunday by finishing in eighth place.

He again added to his tally in Austria by ending the race in P9 and, speaking before a challenging weekend at Silverstone in which he failed to score, the eight-time race winner acknowledged that his recent points results had been “needed”.

“It’s probably the thing I was certainly lacking for most of the season so far, was to string a few decent results together,” said Ricciardo.

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“But yeah, I don’t know, it feels like when we have a media briefing and they’re like, ‘Yeah, a few people are saying things about you’, I tend to have a decent weekend!

“Maybe some of it’s good.”

Regardless of firing back at his critics, Ricciardo is aware of what he needs to do going forward as he aims to produce more good results.

“I also know what’s required and I’m finally getting a little bit of momentum,” the RB driver added. “Probably what I envisioned I should have maybe had all season so far, it was a little bit tougher to get that going. But now, try to keep it going. I feel quite good in the car.”

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Ricciardo’s future beyond 2024 is yet be confirmed, with a seat at the team remaining available following the announcement in June that Tsunoda is set to stay with the squad for a fifth season in 2025.

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