"NOT WITHOUT A FIGHT" - Daniel Ricciardo's handwritten message on his helmet for the F1 Spanish GP

Visa Cash App RB driver Daniel Ricciardo wrote a handwritten message on the back of his helmet to motivate himself amidst uncertainty regarding his future in the sport. The Aussie driver's contract with the Italian team expires at the end of the 2024 season with Liam Lawson waiting in the wings.

It has been an underwhelming start to the season for the eight-time race winner as he has been comprehensively beaten by teammate Yuki Tsunoda in the nine races and two Sprints thus far. He has only finished ahead of the Japanese on two occasions and out-qualified him in China and Canada thus far.

Daniel Ricciardo's future with RB has been called into question as the team have already extended Tsunoda's contract for the 2025 season. Several reports claim that Liam Lawson may replace the Honey Badger next year. Ricciardo turned up for the Spanish Grand Prix with a special helmet with a handwritten motivational message for himself. It read:

"NOT WITHOUT A FIGHT"

Speaking about the chances of a contract extension with the VCARB F1 team, Daniel Ricciardo in the pre-race press conference said:

"Obviously I would like to stay. So as I say, now that I'm back in that Red Bull family that's where… I really don't see myself anywhere else. So that's where I'd love to stay and continue.

"Like I don't just want it to be like, ‘ Yeah. Yeah. OK. Stay another year. I want to be here because I know that I still belong here and can do performances like I did last week. So it's also up to me just to make sure that I can keep pulling it out."

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Daniel Ricciardo previews the Spanish GP this weekend

Daniel Ricciardo stated that the Italian team are expecting an improvement as they have brought an upgrade package for Barcelona. He told the media:

"We're expecting an improvement, yes. But relative to others, that's what we have to wait and see. Typically, Barcelona is a track where everyone comes with updates.

"I don't know yet if everyone is bringing them but in the past, this is the start of the European season, really, where everyone brings their best effort. So I know we will be a little bit quicker."

It would be the first time that Daniel Ricciardo is racing on the new track layout at the Circuit de Catalunya after making some modifications to the final sector in the 2023 edition. The Aussie driver missed out on last year's race as he was the reserve driver for the Red Bull F1 team in his six months away from the sport.

He has scored in the 2024 season on just two occasions in the Miami Sprint and the Canadian GP, finishing P4 and P8 respectively.