Daniel Ricciardo opens up on how the current squad at Faenza is different from what it was in his previous stint

Visa cash app RB driver Daniel Ricciardo has claimed that the Faenza-based outfit has changed ever since it was rebranded at the beginning of the season and that it is different from his previous stint with the team a decade ago. The Aussie driver had previously driven for the team in Toro Rosso guise in 2012 and 2013 before he was promoted to the sister team, Red Bull, in 2014, replacing Mark Webber.

The 35-year-old returned to the team during the 2023 Hungarian GP to replace a struggling Nyck de Vries and has stayed with them ever since including an injury break from Zandvoort to Qatar last year.

As per F1.com, Daniel Ricciardo spoke about the changes he had noticed in the VCARB team from its old guise and even mentioned that it isn't a 'junior team' to Red Bull anymore. He said:

“It does feel different, and I think it's easy to kind of rebrand it and say we’ve got a new look and with this and that, but your actions have to follow. I think Laurent, Peter, Alan, a lot of guys that have come in have done that. It's not that what was happening in the past with Franz, in that example, wasn't the right thing, but a change sometimes is good.

“They've all spent time in other teams, and organisations, and yeah, it's just a new way of looking at things. I think that in itself and their intentions and the way they go about it has made people kind of stand up and say, alright, this isn't a junior team anymore.”

Daniel Ricciardo chimes in on the Faenza outfit taking the big steps

VCARB driver Daniel Ricciardo has also stated that the Faenza-based outfit has been taking some "big boy decisions" and setting targets that they could achieve for the season while moving slightly away from the Red Bull junior team tag.

As quoted by the aforementioned source, the eight-time race winner said:

“We're making, kind of, big boy decisions, and we're taking risks and we're setting targets and high targets, and ones that we realistically think that we can attain. It's cool to see it.

"I'm probably too, in a way, like honest in myself that if it felt like a junior team still, I wouldn't feel comfortable here. I'm 35 now. So, I think I would feel a bit out of place, and I certainly don't, so I think that's also a good way to probably comprehend it.”

Daniel Ricciardo has turned around his slow start to the 2024 season. He has been challenging his teammate Yuki Tsunoda and even outperforming him in some races before the summer break to move to within 10 points of the Japanese in the driver's championship.