Eyeing a attainable return to his outdated workforce, Daniel Ricciardo admits that Crimson Bull is remorseless in its quest for continued success and seeks to crush its opposition.
Whereas all eyes are on the vacant seat at Mercedes in 2025 there would possibly but be one other prime berth up for grabs, that at Crimson Bull ought to Sergio Perez not considerably increase his recreation.
One potential teammate to Max Verstappen is Daniel Ricciardo, who’s again at RB this yr alongside Yuki Tsunoda.
For numerous causes the Austrian workforce has been the speak of the paddock this week and whereas it has but to point out its hand by way of outright tempo, Ricciardo says that Crimson Bull’s ‘killer intuition’ will see the workforce search to grind its rivals into the mud.
“I snort as a result of I am stunned… however I am not,” he instructed reporters in response to the truth that versus merely selecting up the place it left off in November, the Milton Keynes primarily based outfit is searching for to boost the benchmark.
“I really feel it is a workforce that operates at its finest after they’re profitable,” he continued. “I really feel like after they’re profitable, it is like they wish to simply fully crush the competitors.
“It is not like, ‘okay, now we’re profitable, let’s go on vacation’, it is like, ‘let’s actually put our ft down’. In order that’s the place I feel they’ve come out this yr. After probably the most dominant season in ’23, they now come out with a automotive that I feel even I used to be like, ‘wow!’.”
In fact, key to that domination is Adrian Newey, who, Ricciardo admits, is endlessly searching for extra from his automobiles.
“I like seeing Adrian close to the automotive and that,” stated the Australian. “And I do not even really feel unhealthy singling Adrian out, as a result of I do know it is extra than simply Adrian, however he is clearly a giant a part of it. And it is fairly cool to see.
“Whether or not I am a part of the household or not, I, simply as a fan, like to see that sort of relentless strategy and response to such a robust yr. It is like you must, in a approach, admire it.
“I do know, clearly, for followers watching on the sofa, they’re like, ‘nah, I need somebody to problem Crimson Bull this yr’,” he admitted. “However you must admire their strategy.”
That stated, Ricciardo would not imagine the RB20 shall be as dominant as its predecessor.
“It appears practically not possible,” he stated. “Due to simply what number of races there are, and whether or not you get a moist race or not.
“Look,” he continued, “as a lot as they introduced a brand new automotive to the season and I am positive it is nonetheless going to be a race-winning automotive, I do not know, it is too early to be that positive that it should be as dominant as final yr. They’ll win races. I am positive they are going to. However I would not go so far as saying but that it should be unbeatable.
“I feel, Method 1 is simply too unpredictable for them to be unbeatable,” he aded. “I feel they’re going to do very effectively however yeah, too early to have that confidence.”
As for pre-season claims that his personal workforce would possibly show to be the season’s darkish horse, the Australian stated: “I feel individuals bought excited from, for example the skin, followers, bought excited. I feel they thought we had been going to be a distinct model of one other automotive from the previous but it surely’s not that, it is not that. There was the rumours and a bit of pleasure it was going to be, but it surely’s actually not.
“When it comes to efficiency, we’re as anticipated,” he continued. “We’re making an attempt to struggle in that midfield group. There’s undoubtedly work to do to catch the entrance guys, however that is no shock, however I feel it was a fairly easy check.
“I do not assume we depart right here with any considerations or scratching our heads, I feel we all know the place we’re and we have to maintain working for right here.”
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