Ricciardo's dark period
Even before the weekend valid for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Jacques Villeneuve had been very critical of Daniel Ricciardo, protagonist of an unconvincing start to the season and complete with internal tensions that resulted with his teammate due to an unsuccessful strategy. On that occasion, the 1997 world champion 'suggested' the Racing Bulls driver to “thank Netflix” for still being present in F1.
Hope after McLaren
A very harsh statement, but it indicated a level of performance that was not up to par on the part of the Australian, who was also the protagonist of an error in the final stages of the race in Jeddah. Having ended his experience at McLaren at the end of 2022 after a series of results below expectations, Ricciardo was recalled by Red Bull to replace Nyck de Vries last year in AlphaTauri, not participating in 5 GPs of the world championship due to an injury suffered in Zandvoort.
Jordan's opinion
Once back on track, the Australian was no longer able to convince with his performances. An assessment shared by many commentators, including one Eddie Jordanfounder of the former F1 team of the same name: “I don't think there is a more beloved personality in Formula 1 – has explained – he definitely has the best smile I've ever seen in Formula 1. He's a magical guy to have in the team, but that doesn't give you the right to be a driver. I'm just worried because I think the end of the era at McLaren was really something that left its mark, and I couldn't see where he had lost his mind. Since then there has been nothing more he would have convinced me to invest the money I earned from the sponsorship to keep Daniel. So, maybe he needs a result more than anyone else, and he must find calm, otherwise he will be replaced“.
The warning
The motivation behind a possible rejection of Ricciardo is not difficult to identify for Jordan: “The performance is not up to par – he added – I mean, it shouldn't spin the car. It should not end up in an outside sequence during a pit stop. You don't see Verstappen doing this, nor do the other drivers. As much as we love Daniel and think he is a huge asset to Formula 1, the clock never lies. When we see people like Oliver Bearman coming, Ricciardo should look over his shoulder and ask himself: “How long do I have here?”“.
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