RB tailoring car development to suit Ricciardo

The Australian struggled in the opening races of the year but has shown signs of improvement.

Frustratingly for the eight-time race winner, that has not been reflected in his finishing positions after crashing out of the last two grands prix.

In Japan, he tangled with Alex Albon on the opening lap following a more promising qualifying performance a day earlier.

Last time out in China, he out-qualified team-mate Yuki Tsunoda for the first time this year, only to be torpedoed into retirement by Lance Stroll.

“For us, China, Daniel, above all, it was his strongest weekend so far,” said RB team principal Laurent Mekies.

“We have been saying many times he’s progressing; you guys are going to see it.

“He was very strong from Friday onwards. Of course, if you are taken off the racetrack on the day of your strongest race, it’s never going to be a pleasant moment.

“We think we were fighting for that famous point that makes so much difference in the midfield.

“For the incident itself, as much as it is unpleasant, it’s the way racing is sometimes, and there is nothing else to do than move on.”

RB has a small update for Miami this weekend with a new floor body and diffuser.

Both are designed to offer greater ‘local load’ according to the document submitted to the FIA, engineer speak for downforce.

More is in the works back at the squad’s Faenza factory, with Mekies admitting that some of Ricciardo’s struggles will be addressed by them.

“We have been working very hard to make sure he has a car that’s comfortable to push with,” Mekies said.

“Some of it is coming from him adapting to it; some of it is coming from us adapting the car to his needs.

“Some of the stuff you can do very short term, and we have done quite a few steps. Some of the steps will come later in the season to give him something he can push with.

“He’s on a good trajectory,” Mekies added.

“I think we have now in both Daniel and Yuki [two drivers] at a very, very strong level and they are going to keep pushing each other like that for the rest of the year.”

Ricciardo delivered a superb performance in Sprint Qualifying on Friday afternoon, putting his RB fourth on the grid and just 0.4s away from Max Verstappen on pole.