Daniel Ricciardo executed another point-scoring performance in Austria as he builds towards what he hopes will be a more consistent second half of the Formula 1 season.
The West Australian crossed the line in ninth after qualifying 11th at the Red Bull Ring — marking his second top-10 finish in three races after placing eighth at last month’s Canadian Grand Prix.
“I feel like that’s three weeks in a row now where I’ve got the most out of [the car],” Ricciardo told media post-race.
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“I’m still searching for a bit more perfection but yeah, three on the bounce.
“At least I can say I swiped out of the paddock three weekends in a row now on a Sunday — feeling proud.
“I’ve just got to keep that up.”
This season had been touted as Ricciardo’s audition for a reunion with ex-teammate Max Verstappen at Red Bull. However, after failing to fire in the first eight rounds with sister team RB, Ricciardo was realistically never in the hunt.
With Sergio Perez and Yuki Tsunoda signing new deals with their respective teams last month, Ricciardo is now the only one of Red Bull’s four current drivers without a contract for next season, and is facing mounting pressure from reserve driver Liam Lawson.
New Zealand driver Lawson has been waiting in the wings following his impressive stint in the place of Ricciardo when he broke his hand at last year’s Dutch Grand Prix.
Next month, Lawson has been permitted to test in a 2022-spec car.
In an eerily similar situation last season, a successful test outing for Ricciardo — who was serving as Red Bull’s third driver at the time — saw him replace former AlphaTauri driver Nyck De Vries mid-season.
Despite his troubles this season, Ricciardo trusts that he will not face the same fate as De Vries.
“I believe it’s been planned for a while,” he said of Lawson’s test.
“In any case, it’s one of those things where also, I think the older you get, you understand that control the controllables.
“If Liam goes and has an amazing test, like 100 per cent good for Liam. I’ve got no control over that, nor do I wish him poorly, not at all.
“I’m currently in the race seat, so I’ve got to do everything I can to control the things that I can.
“If I kick ass here [Austria], if I kick ass at Silverstone — then I think the narrative can change.
“I obviously have to own that and be on top of what I can do.
“It’s still so heavily on performance, and yeah, just keep focused on that.”
Last week, Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko cast doubt over Ricciardo’s future at RB by claiming the team was looking to use Lawson “soon”.
However, Ricciardo was not phased by the comments.
“I’ve known obviously Helmut such a long time, and at the end of the day he doesn’t care about personality,” he said in response.
“He cares about the stopwatch and the classification. He’s a racer, and that’s all he really wants to see from us.
“That can make him not think great about me to all of a sudden think great about me.
“I think this weekend helped.
“As I said, it’s a little bit more consistent now, so I just need to keep it going and hopefully by the summer break he’s laying on a beach somewhere saying, ‘Ricciardo, he’s still got it’.”
If Ricciardo were to lose his seat at RB to Lawson, he admitted that his other options were slim.
“Not to be stubborn or arrogant about it, but I’m not looking anywhere else,” he said.
“I really do enjoy being back in the family. I weirdly do enjoy sometimes a little bit of a poke from Helmut because I think it can also be a way to get me a little bit fired up and try and get the best out of me.
“I sound casual, I don’t want to be casual about it because obviously, I care a lot.
“Maybe I’m at a point where it’s just like, what will be will be.
“I’m just going to put everything I can on the table from effort and performance, and if that is good enough to secure me a seat, great. If not, then OK, I did everything I could.
“I think in terms of the musical chairs stuff, if I get focused on that, then I’m [in trouble]. I need to put all my attention here. Simple as that.”
After 11 rounds, Ricciardo is positioned 13th in the drivers’ standings with 11 world championship points.
The F1 season continues this weekend at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, which begins at 12am Monday (AEST).