Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull reserve driver, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, 2023

“I don’t expect to get off to a slow start” on return, says Ricciardo

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In the round-up: Newly-announced AlphaTauri driver Daniel Ricciardo says that he wants to “hit the ground running” on his return to racing in F1

In brief

Ricciardo does not expect “slow start”

After missing the first ten rounds of the 2023 season after losing his place on the F1 grid, Daniel Ricciardo says that he does not expect to be slow on his return to racing with AlphaTauri.

Ricciardo was dropped by McLaren after two years of his three-year contract with the team due to repeated poor performance relative to team mate Lando Norris. He says Red Bull will have expectations of him when he steps into their car next weekend in Hungary.

“They expect results – performances,” he said. “It’s hard to define.

“I think until I get in the car, it’s hard to define what that is. Is it a P8? Is it a P14?. I don’t think there’s pressure. Obviously, there’s two races and then the summer break. I don’t think there’s ‘you have to do this before August’, but I also don’t expect to get off to a slow start. I want to hit the ground running and also use what I’ve learnt in this time off to put it to use.”

McLaren has joined teams in hunt for wins – Vasseur

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Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur says that McLaren have joined the group of teams behind Red Bull who are all seeking to beat the championship leaders to win a grand prix.

Red Bull have won all ten rounds of the season so far, with McLaren securing their best finish of the season last time out at Silverstone with second and fourth for Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Asked if Ferrari could win a race in 2023, Vasseur told media including RaceFans that Ferrari had heavy competition in their pursuit of Red Bull.

“When you finish P2 in Austria, you can have expectations to win a race,” he said. “I think in our group we are all fighting for a win. When I say ‘our group’, it’s McLaren, Aston [Martin], Mercedes, us – we all have the target to win a race. But first the target is to be the first of the group.”

Envision’s Filippi praises Formula E safety after crash

Envision Formula E team principal Sylvain Filippi praised the safety of the sport’s Gen3 cars after a horrific accident during the first Rome Eprix yesterday.

A violent multi-car pileup happened when Jaguar driver Sam Bird spun at a blind corner and was hit by Envision driver Sebastien Buemi and Maserati’s Edoardo Mortara. All drivers climbed out of their cars unaided and uninjured.

“We never like to see that,” Filippi said after the accident. “It’s really high speed.

“We have to remember – I’ve been in Formula E for nine years – the speed has evolved considerably. These 20 cars are some of the fastest race cars on the planet, now, and the acceleration is so strong, even out of slow corners. They pick up speed and get to 200kph very rapidly – so any of these shunts are actually really high speed.

“So credit to the FIA and the safety of the survival cells. It’s really great that the drivers are safe, but when I hear that my car is on fire, it’s not a very good feeling. So glad everyone is okay.”

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Comment of the day

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner may want to see changes to F1’s new power units set for 2026, but MichaelN is cynical…

More and more it seems the only “problem” Red Bull are seeing is that the only “Frankenstein” engine is their own, which may still turn out quite well, but will have to combine the knowledge they gained from Honda, their own additions, and Ford’s experience with EVs. It’s a tricky proposition.

They also haven’t made any of their data public to give a better idea of the supposed/alleged “problem” and as a “fix” they propose an arbitrary change in ICE/EV output that’s conveniently rounded up to the nearest 10% point. Doesn’t seem all that credible, especially considering their record on being straight forward and honest has, let’s say room for improvement.

Also, for the first time in over a decade F1 finally does something to push the engines forward and all that’s being talked about is that it’s too hard, it’s too difficult, it can’t be done, we don’t want it, and more such complaining.

That’s the pinnacle of motorsport at the cutting edge of technology for you!
MichaelN

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Whewbacca The Cookie!

On this day in motorsport

  • On this day in 1983 Alain Prost won the British Grand Prix at Silverstone for Renault

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Will Wood
Will has been a RaceFans contributor since 2012 during which time he has covered F1 test sessions, launch events and interviewed drivers. He mainly...

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10 comments on ““I don’t expect to get off to a slow start” on return, says Ricciardo”

  1. Profile Photo

    Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
    16th July 2023, 7:23

    I think until I get in the car, it’s hard to define what that is. Is it a P8? Is it a P14?. I don’t think there’s pressure.

    Homework, more homework, make use of the simulator, and more homework. Oh, and don’t forget to exercise in the gym. Stress is caused by uncertainty, so minimise the uncertainty.

    1. Profile Photo

      Esploratore (@esploratore1)
      16th July 2023, 7:35

      He should at least outperform tsunoda if he wants to continue his career, over the season, so it might not be possible to get many points but on occasion some.

      1. Profile Photo

        BasCB (@bascb)
        16th July 2023, 16:03

        Yeah, beating Tsunoda clearly is the minimum – with where the car is at the moment, it would be a bit of a stretch to even expect points @esploratore1, @drycrust.

        To impress he will have to show some better than expected drives. But the car does not seem well suited to do the overtaking drives he is so beloved for. I am somewhat curious to see whether Ricciardo can actually get consistent pace out of it.

  2. notagrumpyfan
    16th July 2023, 8:17

    F1 finally does something to push the engines forward

    I missed the original discussion, but how is removing the MGU-H a move forward?
    It’s like introducing a new black and white TV with more pixels and calling it progress versus the current colour TVs.

    1. MichaelN
      16th July 2023, 9:13

      You’re right, the MGU-H is an impressive piece of technology and crucial to achieving that 50%+ efficiency Mercedes first claimed. However, the utility of the MGU-H outside high performance engines is extremely limited and there is no serious push to make turbocharged ICEs with MGU-H for anything other than a bunch of novelty ‘supercars’.

      1. osnola
        16th July 2023, 12:44

        Even fia acknowledges the RISC of running the ice as generator during the race (or downshifting and regenerate like Horner said).
        That can not be a viable solution and is unlikely to be the end result.
        So fia must and will fine-tune the regs to avoid these kind of Frankenstein cars.

      2. Coventry Climax
        16th July 2023, 16:54

        However, the utility of the MGU-H outside high performance engines is extremely limited and there is no serious push to make turbocharged ICEs with MGU-H for anything other than a bunch of novelty ‘supercars’.

        Yet that’s exactly what F1 should -and used to- be about.
        Things on an F1 car should be taken off for reasons that they don’t make the machine faster or more efficient, not because the automotive industry sees no chance to sell it at a profit.

        1. Elvira
          16th July 2023, 17:48

          This

  3. Profile Photo

    ppzzus (@ppzzus)
    16th July 2023, 9:13

    its easy to be safe when the max speed is 35mph

  4. Profile Photo

    Zann (@zann)
    16th July 2023, 9:25

    It’s nice to see that from Logan. Hopefully he can start to show with the car getting better.

Comments are closed.