A new chassis and a chance in China for Daniel Ricciardo’s redemption

With a new chassis and a 2018 win in Shanghai, will the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix be Ricciardo’s opportunity to impress?

Daniel Ricciardo’s 2024 season has been lacklustre so far. Most recently, the Australian RB driver suffered a crash at the beginning of the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix, taking himself and the Williams of Alex Albon out of the race on lap one. Ricciardo currently sits in P17 in the Drivers’ Standings with zero points.

In the four races so far this year, the 34-year-old finished in P13 in Bahrain, P16 in Saudi Arabia, P12 in Australia, and a DNF in Japan. The media have not held back on criticizing Ricciardo, who returned mid-way through the 2023 season to replace Nyck de Vries. Shortly after, he suffered a hand injury, which meant he only competed in seven of the 24 races last year.

Liam Lawson jumped into Ricciardo’s car, at that time the AlphaTauri, while he recovered from injury in 2023. Lawson impressed during his short stint in F1 and has retained his reserve driver role for this year. With Lawson, among others, waiting in the wings, Ricciardo has fierce competition for his seat and judging eyes on him.

This year, Ricciardo has been continually outperformed by his teammate in a team with a history of harsh decisions, high expectations, and low patience. Formula One is a competitive sport that expects drivers to perform and do so quickly. However, while some F1 teams give drivers a year or two to familiarize themselves with the team and the car, the Red Bull-owned teams do not typically have that approach. Instead, they are infamous for axing drivers mid-season in a sink-or-swim, high-pressure environment.

A new chassis

RB have a new chassis for the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix and have chosen to give this to Ricciardo. However, Alan Permane, Sporting Director at RB, stated that this has nothing to do with doubts over Ricciardo’s current car and that the new chassis was being built anyway. He said: “we’re not bringing a new chassis because of his issues, to be clear about that. It is just that it all kind of fits together.”

Ricciardo is experiencing issues with his car and is much less confident and comfortable than his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda. Drivers have previously been known to complain of chassis issues and be proven right. But Permane does not believe there are any existing chassis issues for Ricciardo. As reported by Autosport, he remarked:

“For me the chassis is a big lump of carbon that we attach the suspension to, attach an engine to, and a gearbox to. It’s really ever so unlikely that there are performance issues with the chassis.”

He continued: “However, we have a new one coming through, it makes sense at all levels to give that to Daniel, not least that Yuki is super happy and super comfortable where he is. We don’t have a preference on drivers. With Daniel maybe it’s good for him to just put that completely to bed, that there are any issues with the car.”

However, RB hope the new chassis will give Ricciardo the confidence he needs in the car to perform. The team do not want to make Ricciardo’s car more comfortable but slower with the alterations. Permane said:

“In a perfect world, you dial it out, give him his confidence, and then slowly creep back to get the maximum performance.”

Floor upgrades in Japan

RB brought a new floor for Tsunoda in FP1 and Ricciardo in FP2 in Japan. Ricciardo improved his performance during qualifying in Suzuka, with only a 0.055-second gap to his teammate. However, Ricciardo did not get much meaningful running time. Ayumu Iwasa drove his car for FP1, the FP2 session was wet, he lost the rear of his RB in FP3, and he crashed on lap one of the race.

The revised floor was expected to bring more performance at venues with slower corners – not exactly fitting the high speeds of Suzuka. But Tsunoda still performed well and scored his first home race point.

Therefore, having some decent running time with the new floor and a new chassis for the Chinese Grand Prix, could we see an improvement in performance from Ricciardo? He needs to be more consistent and reliable in matching his teammate’s performance to keep his F1 seat. And, with an impressive history in Shanghai, this could be the Aussie’s best chance yet to prove his doubters wrong.

2018 success in China

In 2018, Ricciardo drove for Red Bull alongside teammate, Max Verstappen. In the third round of the season in China, after qualifying in P6, Ricciardo put on an impressive performance to achieve victory in Shanghai. His overtaking and late braking throughout the race was widely praised.

The Red Bull drivers benefitted from a safety car pit for new tyres. They reacted well after the contact between both Toro Rosso drivers. Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley collided on lap 30 of 56 leaving debris on the track.

But Verstappen encountered a few incidents in the race. The Dutchman had a near miss with Lewis Hamilton on lap 39 and contact with Sebastian Vettel on lap 43, leading to a 10-second penalty. Meanwhile, Ricciardo maximised every opportunity presented to him. He completed some impressively clean and well-timed overtakes, some even from a long way back, thanks to his late braking into corners. The Aussie made full use of his tyre advantage while he still had it.

Confidence is key for Ricciardo

As reported at the time by the Guardian, Ricciardo stated before the 2018 Australian Grand Prix:

“I know what I can do in the car. Even if there is a 10% possibility then I am going to do it.”

He then proved himself right in China. He knew exactly where to place his car to achieve the best results in Shanghai. His confidence in the car, paired with his driving talent, proved to be a formidable force. And this is something that we have always known about Ricciardo: confidence is key.

F1 last visited China just a year later, in 2019, and has not returned since. But, for 2024, the championship will be hosted at the Shanghai International Circuit. Large crowds are expected after COVID-19 caused cancellations for the past few years. Chinese driver, Zhou Guanyu, in particular, believes the event will sell out.

Ricciardo wants to put aside his Suzuka crash and not dwell on it. And, if his confidence can be boosted with the new floor upgrades from Japan and a new chassis for his RB, along with his previous success and confidence at the circuit, China could prove to be Ricciardo’s chance at redemption.

Featured Image Credit: @visacashapprb on Twitter