Daniel Ricciardo refusing to think about F1 future: “I want to be doing better”

Daniel Ricciardo is refusing to focus on his F1 future with RB as he looks to close the gap to teammate Yuki Tsunoda.

Tsunoda has generally had the upper hand over Ricciardo in 2024 across qualifying and the race.

The Japanese driver is 7-1 up in the qualifying head-to-head, and it’s a similar story on race day, with Tsunoda leading 6-1.

Despite Ricciardo’s struggles, he seems under little threat of losing his drive for next year.

RB CEO Peter Bayer has made it clear he’s happy with both drivers, indicating he’d like Tsunoda and Ricciardo to stay for 2025.

Even though Bayer is happy with Ricciardo, the former McLaren driver is desperate to find improvements, conceding he’s frustrated with the performance gap to Tsunoda so far this year.

“I'll be honest, I haven't really given it too much [thought]," Ricciardo said of his future. "So yes, that's great to hear. And yes, that would be awesome. But I want to be doing better consistently.

“I think, like today, maybe we do find something that, okay, that's why I lost a bit here or there. But there will probably always be something, this is F1, and it's never perfect.

“So I just, I'm not happy with having these gaps. I think that's what's frustrating me a bit. Obviously, the team has been great.”

Ricciardo remains upbeat about his chances of turning things around.

The Australian thanked the RB team for being "really supportive" while insisting he's not going to get "too comfortable" either.

"They've been really, really supportive," Ricciardo added. "And obviously, they know I can do it, but it's just been a bit more of a struggle this year to do it week in, week out.

"And that's really where my focus is now as opposed to getting too comfortable or excited about what the future holds.

"I want to be doing that. Whether that's car or me, just, I want to be doing better. And I said I didn't feel too bad today, but clearly it wasn't good enough."