Daniel Ricciardo’s “you don’t get many second chances” verdict on drab Dutch GP

Daniel Ricciardo finished outside of the points at the F1 Dutch Grand Prix, as his fight to save his career continued.

He finished 12th at Zandvoort, five places ahead of teammate Yuki Tsunoda as RB’s split strategies left their drivers in dirty air for much of the race.

It was the sort of sub-par result that Ricciardo wanted to avoid with his F1 future uncertain, and no contract yet on the table for 2025.

“In this midfield, when a car is working on a particular circuit, you can make such a big jump,” he assessed in Zandvoort.

“Our balance [during the race] felt points-worthy, but there were just some cars and drivers that were operating at a higher level. We have to just accept that sometimes.

“I’m happier today with the big picture.

“It’s hard to dissect something so soon after qualifying, especially when it doesn’t go well. I think deep down I was just frustrated and disappointed in myself more than anything.

“Yes, in hindsight we could’ve done a few things on the car to help, but at the end of the day we also have to manage a tricky car at times.

“I was just disappointed in myself not to handle that better and as I said yesterday, in Q1 if you’re out, it’s over. You don’t get many second chances.”

Tsunoda added: “When we pitted, the lap we pitted on, everything was too late.

“When I was rejoining the track I was always behind cars and just always stuck in the dirty air.

“To be honest, I don’t think we executed anything from our car. I’m not blaming anything on strategy but the timing of when we did it was completely wrong.

“Qualifying was alright and we were lucky on pace as well, but I think I maximised what we can do with our car. To be honest, the race was far away from the place we wanted.

“I at least wanted to achieve something, but at the end of this race we didn’t take anything, so it was pretty tough.”

Will Ricciardo be axed from F1?

A week ago, Helmut Marko’s comments that Liam Lawson would be guaranteed a 2025 race seat with one of their teams (Red Bull or RB) caused a stir.

Ricciardo was the only driver from either team without a contract so his days looked to be numbered.

But Christian Horner clarified Marko’s stance - insisting Lawson would get a drive on the F1 grid, not necessarily with Red Bull or RB.

Nevertheless for Ricciardo, it was a reminder of how harsh the Red Bull environment can be for an underperforming driver.

There are just three seats still vacant for next year’s grid - Ricciardo’s RB, one Sauber and a Mercedes which is destined for Kimi Antonelli.

This weekend at the F1 Italian Grand Prix - the scene of his most recent race win in 2021 - Ricciardo will target the eye-catching performance which eluded him at Zandvoort.