Daniel Ricciardo is facing significant pressure after a challenging start to the 2024 F1 season, struggling to keep up with teammate Yuki Tsunoda. Originally brought in to push Sergio Perez, Ricciardo now finds himself fighting to retain his current position rather than vying for a potential Red Bull seat in 2025.
Ex-F1 driver Jolyon Palmer has identified a potentially crucial factor that could help Ricciardo. Despite being nearly 35 and lacking the luxury of time, Ricciardo enjoys strong support from the Red Bull management and the broader F1 community. Palmer emphasized that Ricciardo’s likable personality and positive influence, along with his history of seven wins for Red Bull, might buy him more time to improve his performance. This level of support could be what keeps him in his seat, unlike the fate of drivers like Nyck de Vries.
Palmer also commended Tsunoda, who has accumulated seven points in the first four races.
Tsunoda’s current form is “putting himself on the map for a better drive next year”, according to Palmer.
“As much as Daniel is struggling at the start of this season though, you have to say that Yuki is also driving superbly as well and is surely putting himself on the map for a better drive next year, be it at Red Bull or potentially even Aston Martin, who are switching to Honda engines for 2026,” he added.
“If you swapped the performances of Daniel and Yuki around right now, you’d say Ricciardo would be a shoe in at Red Bull for next year, and that’s as much of a compliment as Tsunoda can hope for at this early stage.”
