"There will be no excuses" - Daniel Ricciardo raring to go ahead of the first race of the season

Daniel Ricciardo reckons there will be no excuses in terms of his performance, after the preseason test experience. Speaking to media including Sportskeeda ahead of the 2024 Bahrain GP, the Australian felt that starting a season with a preseason test under the belt was better than a mid-season return.

Completing 210 laps in the VCARB-01, Daniel Ricciardo contributed to the maximum mileage racked up on the car during the preseason test. While his timed laps were competitive, the Visa Cashapp RB driver downplayed his test performance.

However, his teammate Yuki Tsunoda suggested that the Honey Badger might be back in top form. The 34-year-old felt he was in a better place and more confident about his performance than in 2023, where he completed only seven races and sustained an injury which interrupted his season. He suggested that there will be lesser excuses this season compared to last year, in terms of his own performance and the team's.

Asked if Tsunoda’s suggestion of him being back at the top was accurate, Ricciardo said:

“I feel good you know. I mean coming back even last year I felt good and in terms of my driving and yeah like I was in a good place. But again I don't want to ignore that few percent that maybe like now full preseason does. And even just having a summer break or sorry a winter break for most, summer for us, just being able to reflect on it and come into the season now with some new ideas, every little bit helps. So yeah, I think Yuki and I will be pushing the car hard and whatever happens this weekend, there'll be no yeah, not that there's really ever excuses that we try not to, but there'll be no excuses.”

Asked how it felt after a preseason under the belt compared to a mid-season return, Daniel Ricciardo said:

“Really good. I think I was kind of saying before, you can be experienced and whatever, of course it helps. But at this level now, I don't know if it's the right like words but you can't like cheat it. You know like you can't just jump in halfway through a season and think that you're gonna be a hundred percent of everything you know technically, driving, strategy like all these things.

"So just spending the three days with the team, doing all that feeling the car and now having a few days to also discuss it post-test and have that luxury of time, without the stress of we got to bounce back in another race. I think that's yeah just it's that extra few percent that I think can make a difference.”

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Daniel Ricciardo claims they will make more improvements to the car during practice

Daniel Ricciardo claims that RB completed 75 percent of their preseason test programme which gave positive indications. He felt with time limitations, there could be some setup changes that are needed which can also be integrated into the practice sessions.

He felt that the remaining 25 percent of development work can be carried out through the two sessions of practice available to them on Friday. The 34-year-old believes that with the time spent at the Bahrain circuit, they have a fair understanding of the remaining work that needs to be done.

Asked if there were any boxes left unticked after the preseason test, Daniel Ricciardo said:

“There are still more things with setup that, yeah, there's still to try. You know, I think we tried a lot, but there's always more, you know. So, I mean, speaking kind of in a way, like maybe we got 75% of the test items done. But there's still a few more ultimately so I think it was very productive but just time as well.

"And obviously between us as drivers you know maybe I'm pushing like I really want to try this, but we only have half a day then. Obviously Yuki maybe has different priorities so yeah there's always a few more things but actually because now like looking at tomorrow, we know the track. We spent a lot of time here we don't need to get it out up to speed on the track. So I think tomorrow we can use as another productive test day. So I think we can probably get most of those 25% of changes done tomorrow as well.”

A multiple Grand Prix winner, Daniel Ricciardo, is expected to be in a better place this season compared to his last one. The Western Australian has downplayed the performance of their team in preseason testing but has been tipped off for a podium in 2024 by many analysts and TV pundits. Former Red Bull driver Alex Albon felt that the RB team might have masked their true potential during the test and could be at their competitive best in 2024.