Daniel Ricciardo insists that he would not must hearken to feedback from Helmut Marko so as to know that he wants to boost his sport.
When lower than his elbows within the Horner saga, Helmut Marko has discovered the time to fireside a warning shot throughout Daniel Ricciardo’s bow, the Austrian warning, within the wake of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, that the Australian “has to give you one thing quickly”.
With a well-earned fame as Pink Bull’s Lord Excessive Executioner, few would regard the menace as empty, for Marko has historical past, as any variety of drivers can attest.
Nevertheless, talking to the media forward of his dwelling race, Ricciardo insists that being his personal fiercest critic he doen’t require additional enter from the likes of Marko.
“No, it isn’t annoying,” he replied, when requested if he discovered the feedback annoying, particularly when it comes to coming days earlier than his dwelling race. “I believe there’s all the time, as an enormous a part of our job… Crucial half is the driving, however an enormous a part of it’s speaking to you guys and clearly listening to when issues go effectively, clearly everybody’s speaking positively and once they do not, they do not speak so positively. In order that’s a part of it.
“I believe additionally the extra I get into the game, the extra I simply know that I am again right here as a result of I consider I can do it,” he continued. “I consider I belong right here, and it is actually that.
“When folks say, do you’ve gotten a degree to show or something, or do you might want to preserve folks joyful or please anybody, I am right here for myself. It is truthfully that, as a result of I do know I can nonetheless do it. I do wish to make folks proud, the those who help me.
“If somebody says one thing, I do know it already, as a result of I’ve instructed myself that, or I do know what’s anticipated from me. In order that’s that. After all, I wish to be qualifying Q3. I wish to get these outcomes that I consider I can.
“Nevertheless it’s tight. We’re in such a good midfield. And like Bahrain in quali, I knew I did not put the lap collectively I ought to have. And I put my hand up for that. And that is the distinction. That is the distinction from perhaps P14 to a Q3. I believe finish of Q1 in Saudi from P9 to P16 was lower than a tenth. So you’ll be able to in a short time appear to be a hero or not. And that is the place each tenth counts. And that is the place clearly I look to myself first.”
With the primary indicators showing that Ricciardo might be underneath stress to retain his RB seat, the dream return to Pink Bull appears a great distance off, however the Australian insists that he was by no means that focussed on a return within the first place.
“I do not purchase into any of the tales, if you’ll,” he mentioned. “I do know, clearly, what my place is within the workforce. I do know, as an example, some potential issues that might occur if I do very well. However that is all simply… It is like the whole lot you understand.
“I believe any workforce you are with, you understand if in case you have a extremely robust season it may result in perhaps one thing totally different or enhance your place the place you at the moment are. I believe it is all the time our goal to do the very best we will. And I believe no matter occurs will occur or can occur.
“However for us, my goal is to drive this automobile pretty much as good as I can. I believe now getting again right into a automobile I am positively not trying too far forward. So am I interested by the Pink Bull seat that you just communicate of? No. I do know if I do some actually good outcomes, perhaps then that may current itself probably. It isn’t one thing I take into consideration as a result of, yeah, as you mentioned, 12 months in the past, I wasn’t on this place. I did not know if I’d be again on this place. So I believe I simply take it weekend after weekend.
“There’ll all the time be some, yeah, no matter going round. However I do know my job and what I must do. And I believe the extra I get… Look, it is by way of expertise as effectively. However the extra you get caught up in that stuff, then that begins taking focus away from my job and that is driving as quick as doable.
“I do know we do loads of different issues through the course of a race weekend however that is why we’re right here in the end, to push the automobile to the restrict and attempt to make it pretty much as good as it may be. So this weekend it is one thing I stay up for clearly being right here racing at dwelling, however yeah, as you mentioned, after the primary two races it hasn’t been wonderful. however it’s not a priority I believe it is two races out of 24 and there is loads of new folks within the workforce. So it’s extremely early, however I do positively wish to have a robust weekend and yeah, do effectively.”
Requested concerning the coming weekend, and likewise a declare by the workforce that it discovered a problem after qualifying, Ricciardo mentioned: “Yeah, we discovered some inconsistencies throughout vehicles. And that, I believe, was clearly… As I touched on earlier, when it is so tight, you understand, particularly in our place, you want the whole lot to clearly try to be there. In order that was that. After which within the race, you understand, early within the Security Automotive interval, we had a sluggish cease. So then it put us on the again and yeah, just about in a DRS practice after that. So then you definately’re out of place and that form of made it a really lengthy and hard weekend.
“So forward of this weekend, I believe the whole lot’s been addressed. I have been talking with the workforce so much. I used to be again within the sim as effectively after Saudi and earlier than heading dwelling. So yeah, I really feel like we have executed the whole lot we will to return right here with our greatest shot and I am very, very joyful that we’re in all probability 24 hours away from getting within the automobile.”
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