F1 NOTES FROM CANADA WITH A VERY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE

June 9, 2024
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Formula 1
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It seems that it is now rumour, criticism and innuendo that drives much of the Formula One content across the social media platforms these days.

And sadly, much of that clickbait has been directed towards Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo.

From the paddocks of the Formula 1 circus to our local shores literally half the world away, it seems that everyone uses Daniel’s name to generate another piece of news.

Ricciardo’s so called smashing at the hands of teammate Tsunoda. The Japanese driver’s so called ’domination’ of his teammate with five point scoring finishes to one. A fourteen point gap and three places in the driver’s championship standing are now joined by suggestions that his height and weight are further detrimental factor in his chances of remaining in Formula 1 past 2024.

Incidents with Albon and Stroll at successive races in Japan and China have not helped his points tally.

The presence of Kiwi driver Liam Lawson, waiting in the wings as the VISA Cash APP reserve driver, has triggered further suggestions of a potential change. It should be noted that source of these reports have been traced back to New Zealand media outlets.

At the core of the rumour mill had been Ricciardo’s difficulties in progressing through the three stage qualifying format. Whilst Tsunoda has progressed to Q3 six time this far in 2024, to Ricciardo’s single appearance.

It is a statistic of which the Australian driver is all too aware. That starting position basically dictates the race weekend, especially amongst the near microscopic differences amongst the midfield teams.

The fourth place finish in the Miami Grand Prix Sprint Race highlighted that very point. Ricciardo was able to defend his place from the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz and both McLaren drivers.

A new chassis was credited for much of the change, with hopes that it heralded an upswing in fortunes for Daniel.

It took just one more qualifying for the criticism to return.

Such commentary are now commonplace for Ricciardo, with little regard to the predicament in which the team was placed when he came on board.

Daniel Ricciardo’s relationship with the VISA Cash App RB team goes far beyond Grand Prix points finishes.

The team itself has declared that Ricciardo’s input has proven invaluable in changing the engineering direction of the car. His influence may well have provided a rod for his own back in providing a car in which the younger Japanese driver has excelled.

There are also reports that the VISA Cash APP naming rights sponsorship package was brokered by Ricciardo’s management team.

The concept of a senior driver returning to the F1 ranks to mentor a younger rough-edged talent is the stuff of a Hollywood script….

A very public slap down from Jacques Villeneuve 1997 Formula One World Champion during the Canadian Grand Prix Saturday television broadcast on the Sky Sports commentary, only added further fuel to the fire and drew an equally terse response from the Australian at the conclusion of qualifying. Ricciardo had outperformed his teammate throughout the preliminary stages of the weekend. A Q3 appearance and P5 saw the Australian driver start three places ahead of Tsunoda.

It’s not the first time that Villeneuve has criticised the Australian’s place on the Formula One grid. Nor is it unusual for the Canadian to ridicule the credentials, skills and records of drivers both past and present.

In all fairness, the basis for the Villenueve criticism and calls for Daniel’s demise, would lead to the loss of half the current F1 driver roster, should the same critique be universally applied.

The re-signing of Yuki Tsunoda and likewise Sergio Perez at Red Bull with a one-plus-one option have been purported as yet further nails in the coffin for Ricciardo.

But what if it isn’t?

Let’s throw a virtual spanner into the rumour mill by using some of the clickbait offered elsewhere; from Max Verstappen’s apparent discontent with the Red Bull Racing Team (the internal squabbles and the recent departure of Adrian Newey), to Yuki Tsunoda’s Honda links.

Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 are rumoured to be after the current World Champion at any price.

The last major changes to engine regulations saw a seven year F1 dominance for the Brackley based team until Red Bull and Honda alliance finally gained the ascendency.

Red Bull moves to an in-house engine program for 2026 with a Ford allegiance, while Honda finds a new home with Aston Martin Aramco.

Add the suggestion of an Adrian Newey influenced car design and a Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 move might not be out of the question for Verstappen.

There is also the Tsunoda-Honda link to consider. The Japanese driver’s single year contract and option frees him to follow Honda.

Christian Horner has stood firm in his support of Daniel Ricciardo and Sergio Perez under the larger Red Bull umbrella.

Maintaining both drivers on their roster provides a level of expertise which may prove invaluable as the teams negotiate the development of radically different cars and powertrains for 2026.

That driver roster still enables the interchange of Perez and Ricciardo should the Australian’s fortunes take an upward trajectory and Perez continues to struggle. Their comparative performances in Monaco and now Canada, coupled with Helmut Marko’s latest observations, still potentially places those cards on the table.

That leaves Liam Lawson.

With the exception of retaining Ricciardo in a development role, there seems to be little sense in replacing the Australian with the rookie New Zealander for 2025.

Lawson would then find himself a seat with the Oracle Red Bull Racing Team in 2026, should Verstappen leave and Tsunoda stays. Or, he could slot into the Visa Cash App RB drive if Tsunoda left and Verstappen remained.

If both Verstappen and Tsunoda departed, Red Bull could potentially look to their driver development program for a fourth driver.
Trying to maintain some semblance of level ground in unstable times makes sense.

Daniel Ricciardo recovered from an awkward start and a subsequent five-second pitlane penalty to finish eighth at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Yuki Tsunoda finished out of the points in fourteenth after a late race spin saw the Japanese driver lucky not to put the nose of the #22 into the wall.

He wasn’t alone as Sergios Perez spun his Oracle Red Bull backwards into the wall and Carlos Sainz spun into the path of Alex Albon, resulting in the retirement of both car.

Those results has seen Ricciardo climb two places in the Formula One World Championship to sit in twelfth place, two spots behind Tsunoda. The points deficit to his teammate now sits at ten.

The season is still only nine races into a 24 event calendar.

One wonders if the Ricciardo clickbait might eventually wane if he continued to gain momentum from the Canadian result.

Given his popularity across social media, we think not.

For the record the Canadian Grand Prix was won by Max Verstappen from Lando Norris and George Russell.

The race began in atrocious conditions with all bar the two Haas cars on the intermediate tyres. Magnussen and Hulkenberg thrived during those early laps on the full-wet tyres and moved well into the top ten before finding their rubber more akin to marshmallows.

Hulkenberg in particular proved somewhat of a roadblock thereafter, with Ricciardo caught behind. By the time the VISA Cash App RB had moved past, Lewis Hamilton had become aa speck in the distance.

Russell, led throughout the opening stanza before Norris gained the lead as a drying track and Safety Car interventions saw a variety of race strategies play out.

The move to medium compound slick tyres brought both reward and disaster. Logan Sargeant spun once and continued then spun again and tapped the wall. Perez spun backwards into the wall, Sainz spun and collected Albon while Tsunoda outbraked himself, having climbed his way into the Top 10, nd spun across the grass and dropped well down the order.

Verstappen eventually moved into the lead after a successful undercut had Norris unable to defend his position on cold slicks on the damp pit exit road.

Lewis Hamilton had been ahead of his teammate in the fight for third, only to drop off the podium after Russell stuck a moderately risky move down the inside.

Oscar Piastri settled for fifth, having struggled for outright pace in the second half of the race. Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll finished sixth and seventh for Aston Martin Aramco with Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon completing the point paying positions.

After victory at the seaside in Monaco, Ferrari floundered in the waters of Canada. Leclerc suffered from a mechanical problem which eventually saw the car retired in the garage, whilst Sainz had his moment and retirement on-track.

The championship heads to sunny Spain for the tenth round of the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship in two-weeks time.

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