Red Bull boss increases pressure on Ricciardo

Ricciardo finished 16th in Jeddah after a poor qualifying session and a clumsy spin late in Saturday night’s race.

Speaking after qualifying, the Australian could not explain his inability to improve his time as the session continued.

However, he said the team had found issues with his car following the session.

In Saturday’s 50-lap encounter, Ricciardo’s efforts were blighted by a slow stop under the Safety Car for Lance Stroll’s crash.

Stuck behind Valtteri Bottas, he lost time before eventually clearing the Sauber only to join the queue behind Kevin Magnussen’s Haas.

It saw him cross the line 16th, two places behind Tsunoda, who was relegated a spot following a post-race time penalty.

But while there were perhaps explanations for the performance, there’s no hiding from the fact that it was some way short of what Ricciardo hopes to deliver in his quest to oust Sergio Perez from his drive alongside Max Verstappen.

That’s a point made by Marko in his regular post-event column for Speed Week.

“A word about the Racing Bulls,” he wrote.

“There’s a lot at stake this season for both Yuki and Daniel.

“Yuki’s qualifying performance was very good and Ricciardo has to come up with something soon.”

Marko added that there is work to be done, specifically around the long-run performance in the RB.

“At least Tsunoda is very good in qualifying,” he noted.

“They are at the front of the championship points in the first stint, only to fall further and further behind afterwards.

“They can’t keep up the speed in the long run.

“Whether they are putting too much strain on the tyres or whether there are other reasons: you have to find out.”

Ricciardo has branded 2024 as the start of the second part of his career.

While he returned to the grid midway through last season, he did so without the usual build-up and preparation that comes with a complete campaign.

The eight-time race winner benefitted from that this year, though he has been unable to translate that into results in the season’s opening two races.