Ricciardo not feeling pressure despite lack of laps

2014 F1 season

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Daniel Ricciardo says the pressure is not on Red Bull despite their early end to testing at Jerez.

The world champions left Jerez having completed less than 100km during the first test of the season while Mercedes logged over 1,300km.

“I don’t think it adds pressure,” said Ricciardo after another technical problem halted his Friday running.

“For all we know, they could be racking up a lot of laps but they could be a second off the pace, so who knows? We’re not going to read into it.”

“Obviously we’d love to have done more laps – even for me, I came here to drive – but we’re not going to get down about it.”

Ricciardo declared himself confident his team could solve the problems with the car: “I mean, if anyone can pull this off, it’s these guys.”

“But there’s nothing to pull off yet. It’s still early. But I’m sure they’ll make a quick turn-around because they’re the best in the world.”

“With the complex systems we’ve got here, it’s not going to take 24 hours to solve,” he added.

“I think that now we have some time away from the track to figure out what needs to be done. Obviously that’s not my job, but I’ll be keeping in touch with the team over the next few weeks to see how it’s all going.”

2014 F1 season


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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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22 comments on “Ricciardo not feeling pressure despite lack of laps”

  1. As a RBR fan I can’t say that I’m not worried about the testing. However, if anybody can pull it off it’s Newey & co.

    1. Actually as an RBR driver and F1 drivers of modern day being just PR department’s mouthpieces, I would not expect Daniel saying anything different.

  2. Looks like there will be a change in the RB10’s design

    If Newey can still put this car on pole in Australia… then hats off to him and his team.

    1. Front-row lock out :D

      1. Bet on it!

    2. If the car is fast, pole is “easy”, all they need is three laps. Both cars finishing in Melbourne will be a feat on its own.

  3. Normally I would be sure that Newey and RBR can pull it off. They usually do remarkable job at returning from dead-end solutions which bring only trouble. However this time it’s not only their own wrong-doing. The Renault engine is not performing well at any team and Red Bull made it even worse. That’s why their losses might be doubled, even compared to other Renault-powered teams.

    1. Indeed, I think the problems come from both Renault and a too extreme design from Newey.

      I even heard Renault was quite unhappy with the way the RB was built (even though RB submitted their plans to Renault for approval).

  4. Poor Daniel. If Renault don’t get their engine fixed by Feb 28th, his career could very well take a similar path to Perez. Join a top team just as they produce a turd car.

    1. @kingshark

      He has a 2 year contract :)

    2. I’m fairly sure Perez’s contract was “multi year” which of course tuned out to mean: one year. But if Red Bull drivers get dumped they very rarely find a seat, as they’ve gone their whole career without sponsorship. I think the only one who got a meaningful F1 seat after getting dumped from the programme was Liuzzi, but he was terrible…

  5. Riccardo will win a race and Vettel will win the championship.

    1. In your dreams!

    2. I disagree my friend . I would like Ricciardo to win more than your estimate if the Red Bull is quick and if not , I don’t wan’t Vettel to win always . At least not with his usual margins .

      1. Sadly it’s not a case of what you “want” @hamilfan

        1. @vettel1 To each their own ;-) . Without expectations , what is the point of watching? What is the incentive ? I am sure you would feel bored if your favorite team does a shoddy job .

          1. Yes but it’s degrees of realism in those expectations, and the inevitability is that Vettel is likely going to trump Ricciardo far more often than the opposite circumstance ;)

  6. So far, the best Renault team is… Caterham! Who could predict that?

    Keep pushing Red Bull, I want you guys at the front.

  7. Any body else likes the way Daniel answers questions ? I think I am beginning to like him more.

    1. @hamilfan

      I like his smile :-)

      1. @full-throttle-f1 Hence forth he shall be known as :Daniel Ricciar:Do

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