Daniel Ricciardo remains without a contract for the 2025 F1 season, the only one of Red Bull’s four current race drivers in that predicament.
After a slow start to the year, Ricciardo has improved and become the better of RB’s two drivers in recent races.
However, that personal upturn has coincided with the team being less competitive, which has done much to mask the Australian’s progress.
Though he insists he’s safe for now, he remains vulnerable come the year’s end, with Red Bull poised to make a decision on Liam Lawson’s future in the coming days.
A promotion to RB for 2025 would almost certainly spell the end of the line for Ricciardo.
Ricciardo’s future has been under intense pressure throughout 2024, with speculation – rejected by all parties – that he was to be replaced for the Miami Grand Prix.
He also conceded that the Belgian Grand Prix could be his last as Red Bull management assessed its options, specifically regarding Sergio Perez.
With uncertainty remaining as F1 heads into the final eight races of the year, Ricciardo has admitted that he’s treating the run to Abu Dhabi as the most critical of his career.
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“It needs to be the mindset,” he confessed.
“And if I feel like I’m softening that, then I need to kind of shake myself a little bit and make sure I’m not.
“It is still very important, but I also think I am still learning, which is great, and I think that mindset is a much better one for me.
“When there’s a bit on the line, when that pressure is a little bit higher, it in a way kind of increases that spark in me and stops me from feeling a little bit, maybe relaxed or whatever you want to say.
“I’ve just got to make sure that I still, and I think this is still the case… these are very important races.
“But even if, for whatever reason, they weren’t, even if I signed a contract today, I still should be telling myself that they are because I think that’s where I operate the best for myself.”
At 35, Ricciardo has won eight races from 255 career starts, seven of those achieved with Red Bull Racing.
His last win came at Monza in 2021 with McLaren, though a dismal second year with the Papaya squad in 2022 saw him axed in favour of Oscar Piastri.
Since then, Ricciardo has battled to re-establish himself on the F1 grid, first as third driver for Red Bull Racing before being promoted back into a race seat midway through last season.
That has netted mixed results, with flashes of brilliance counterpointed by disappointing weekends akin to his tenure at McLaren.
With Lawson waiting for a call up, and a key contract clause set to expire in less than two weeks, it’s a critical juncture for the Australian.
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