Helmut Marko has told Daniel Ricciardo he has got to be "clearly faster" than Yuki Tsonoda to even be considered for a seat at Red Bull next season.
Following a difficult start to the season, Ricciardo endured a slight improvement at the Chinese Grand Prix last weekend, but still ended up retiring after being hit by Lance Stroll. It means the 34-year-old is still without a single point from the opening five races this season.
Both Ricciardo and Tsunoda, as well as current seat holder Sergio Perez, are all looking to stake their claim to partner Max Verstappen next season. However, a strong start to 2024 from Perez has put him in the driving seat, with Christian Horner maintaining throughout that it is his loss.
As for the in-team battle at RB, Tsunoda has had the upper hand over his team-mate for the majority of the season despite Ricciardo's slight up-turn in China. "Yuki had a great start to the season and is no longer the hot runner he once was," Marko told Austrian publication Kleine Zeitung.
"There have only been a few races, so you can’t say much yet. But he has Daniel under control, even if it was close in Japan." After not having the greatest start to the season, rumours had circulated that Ricciardo could be at risk of losing his seat mid-season following mounting pressure from reserve Liam Lawson. Although that speculation has seemed to have cooled, Marko has urged the Aussie to improve.
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When asked if he had expected more from Ricciardo so far this season, Marko added: "The expectation was that he had to be clearly faster than Yuki if he wanted to have any hope of getting a seat at Red Bull.
Daniel Ricciardo's Chinese Grand Prix ended in frustration (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)"That hasn’t been the case so far, even if, as I said, it was close. We’ll see how that develops." Meanwhile, Ricciardo believes there is more to come from him after making a chassis change in China and progressing to Q2. "From the get-go, it just felt like we're in a better place and everything came a bit more seamlessly," he told the media.
"We did change chassis. I don't want to jump on that and be like: 'It's definitely that'. But something didn't make me feel right with the previous chassis I was racing. I would love to kind of be here in five races' time and say that because then it means the season has definitely turned around and I get that monkey off our back. We'll see in Miami, and Imola and maybe the next few [races] if it continues."
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