In a fresh setback to the grand plan, Ricciardo is publicly questioned and the strategy “massively backfires” – F1 LIVE

With Red Bull racing supremo Helmut Marko’s latest warning ahead of qualifying (4pm AEDT), the pressure is on Daniel Ricciardo at the Australian Grand Prix.

At Visa Cash App RB, Ricciardo has had a poor start to the season. In contrast, Yuki Tsunoda, his colleague, has demonstrated a quicker underlying pace than the Australian, especially during qualifying.

Even though the season is just two races old, Ricciardo already has more pressure on him because of his high expectations to return to a Red Bull seat.

Check out our live blog below to follow the Australian Grand Prix on Saturday! Have a query? We will have a live chat option below the blog all day with Fox Sports’ Jacob Polychronis at Albert Park.

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Prior to this weekend’s race, Red Bull senior adviser Helmut Marko made it plain that he wasn’t impressed and that Ricciardo needed to “come up with something soon.”

Prior to Saturday’s qualifying match at Albert Park, Marko reiterated his earlier remarks and issued a more ominous warning in an interview with Sky Germany.

A great deal is on the line for (Tsunoda and Ricciardo). One should be far ahead of the other even if they are both likely vying for a seat at Red Bull,” Marko is reported as saying.

Although neither Tsunoda nor Ricciardo had finished higher than 13th in the first two races, Marko said, he thought that both drivers could have earned a point.

“Being outside of the top five is extremely tough, and you can’t afford to miss opportunities when you have them. He stated, “You have to test the decisions in the exact correct order.”

Ricciardo should also be concerned about Marko’s shift of perspective regarding Red Bull incumbent Sergio Perez, who has improved in 2024.

Despite being a significant distance behind his world champion teammate Max Verstappen, the Mexican has managed to finish second in both races with remarkable ease.

Marko remarked, “Sergio is in a very good position right now.” “He has produced

However, it concerns the future. Neither Perez nor Ricciardo is the youngest anymore.

“And another driver could definitely be included in this process if you then take other aspects into account.”

In the two practice sessions on Friday in Melbourne, Ricciardo was slower than Tsunoda. For the remainder of the weekend, he will be hoping that adjustments made over night can maximize his potential.

After practice three, the cars will resume at 12:30 PM (AEDT).

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Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes will also be trying to turn around his luck on Saturday following his worst day to date in the team’s 2024 challenger.

After making modifications to his car that “massively backfired,” Hamilton sat in P18 in FP2, according to Mercedes CEO Toto Wolff.

“In the second session, we made a really significant setup change on Lewis. That has really backfired, according to Wolff. “But for that reason, we are holding those meetings.”

Hamilton was forthright in his evaluation of the day, calling it one of the worst he had ever had to endure.

“In general, P1 felt pretty good; the car felt its best ever during the first run, but it just kept getting worse.” I produced a few

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