Ricciardo using new chassis in Austria

2015 Austrian Grand Prix

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Daniel Ricciardo revealed he is using a new chassis for this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix following a troubled race in Canada.

Ricciardo finished 13th in Canada, over half a minute behind team mate Daniil Kvyat, and admitted he was baffled about his car’s lack of performance.

However in today’s FIA press conference Ricciardo said the team now “understood quite a lot post-Canada”.

“I probably came in there quite in a way emotional from what happened there a year earlier and probably just hoping for too much,” he admitted. “So that already probably set the target too high from the start and it sort of spiralled into a poor weekend, for obviously some other reasons as well.”

Ricciardo intends to take “a fresh approach” this weekend. “I have a new chassis,” he added.

“I think we’ve got any variables that were maybe there in Canada and ready to have a good weekend. We know the track doesn’t realty suit everything for our performance right now but hopefully have a good weekend here in front of the home fans.”

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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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    15 comments on “Ricciardo using new chassis in Austria”

    1. at this point, Ricciardo will take any good news he can.
      I feel for someone like him, after showing his massive talent potential last season he deserves a great car asap. I love his attacking and he has some of the best passing it can be argued.

      1. Many drivers deserve a quick car ‘asap’, only few have had the luxury like Hamilton had to roll into a Mclaren, winning races right away. It is obvious that for the top teams experience counts as every top seat is occupied by someone with well over 100 GPs behind his back. Red Bull is the odd one but mainly because their two star drivers left in just two years.

        I don’t expect Red Bull at the front anytime soon so both Ricciardo and Kvyat their careers might already be over before they really began. Same for guys like Sainz and Verstappen, sure they are good but where are they going to go…

        McLaren, Williams, Mercedes, Ferrari are all locked for the foreseeable future and most likely the last three will be the only race winners in the coming seasons.

        1. You make a very good point concerning experience…A lot of folks associate names like Verstappen,Kvyat and Bottas to big teams like it’s a small-time matter but forget that RedBull aside (for the reason u mentioned) the top teams want veterans of at least a couple of junior titles and 100 GPs!Hamilton’s case aside all the other 7 top seats r occupied by old heads…I’ve said this several other times and will say it again: Ferrari will use Gutierrez or Vergne as bargaining chip to get Hulkenberg!They don’t need Claro’s sponsorship and certainly don’t need a “simulator guy”!One of them will go to Haas and the Other to Force India; their super licences r valid till 2017 so it only makes sense…U heard it here first :):)

          1. I think that would make a lot of sense for all those names you mentioned. Hulk at Ferrari would be fabulous!

    2. I thought this guy was the most adaptable driver on the grid and only average drivers like vettel need new chassis? He’s the next alonso after all remember?

      1. I don’t know if he’s as good as Vettel or Alonso but he already gets paid a ridiculous amount of money to show up. I find it hard to ‘feel bad’ for someone getting more than 10M a year to race.

    3. Well, what “happened there a year earlier” was that RB helpfully moved him ahead of his teammate via pit stop strategy, and then the Williams and Mercedes cars ahead of him ran into technical difficulties allowing him to inherit an improbable win.

      Nothing wrong with that, as far as it goes. Luck plays an important role in sports, as it does in life in general. But I’m starting to get the impression that Dan believes some of the media hype about him. He’s come across as a bit arrogant and entitled in the recent stories about him.

      1. THANK YOU!Was thinking the same damn thing…Don’t get me wrong, lovely guy and all but he’s 25 and only just got to a top team (edging out Vergne by a whisker) which made him team-leader so he shouldn’t think he can get the title just yet…Despite 2 previous titles it took Alonso 5 whole years and 3 2nd places to lose his cool at Ferrari,pretty sure Ricciardo can chill out and take it easy!Smile but don’t jump on the hype train

    4. Didn’t Vettel also had his chassis changed early last year? It wasn’t much help though, still got beaten consistently by Ricciardo.
      Probably unrelated issues but still funny to see the story repeating at RBR.

      1. @mantresx, I was thinking the same thing. I guess much like Vettel struggled with motivation last year, Ricciardo is experiencing the same. Such thing can have clear effect on performance on track as well, apparently.

      2. Yes, I can’t actually remember reading about any other team changing chassis, it feels like Red Bull do it about every six races.

    5. “understood quite a lot post-Canada”
      What I understood from all I’ve heard and read since Canada is that you might have overdriven the car…

    6. This goes with my personal opinion that when your team has a downturn in performance it effects you more than a team mate moving to your team that came from a far less competitive team so he is actually still taking a step up. Vettel got it from Ricciardo last year from around the Spanish GP onwards now Kyviat is doing similar to Ricciardo. Oh well his time as the next big thing must have been nice in fickle F1 circles. Hard though, his success was 3 race wins Vettels was 4 world titles.

    7. Ah! The chassis change. Surprised it came so quickly for Ricciardo. That’s one exucse chalked off for the weekend then.

      Game on at RB. If Kvyat manages to beat Ricciardo this Sunday, it will be a big shot in the arm for him.

      1. Yup, this is an important weekend for Kvyat, hopefully the Renault engine doesn’t let him down this time.

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