Giedo van der Garde thinks that Liam Lawson could be put in the car at any time if Daniel Ricciardo continues to deliver disappointing performances. The Australian did not do too well during his home race, while teammate Yuki Tsunoda did. The situation cannot entirely be compared with Nyck de Vries, but the gap between the teammates is again very large.
After two races of the 2024 season, Ricciardo was already under pressure from Red Bull Racing top advisor Helmut Marko to deliver better performance. So far he has not managed to score points, not even in the third race of the year. At his home circuit, Ricciardo was unable to get out of Q1 after his time was removed due to track limits. He also did not come close to the points in the race. Tsunoda, on the other hand, has been good all weekend, and in addition to Q3 on Saturday, he also managed to finish in the top ten on Sunday. “On average, Tsunoda is much faster,” says Van der Garde in the DRS: The Race Show podcast. ‘That hole is too big. Then you can also ask: isn’t Tsunoda very good?’
Marko was also impressed by the Japanese’s performance, although that does not immediately give him a seat at Red Bull. “He finished seventh, he just did well, beating Ricciardo again,” Van der Garde continues, who thinks the criticism of Ricciardo is justified. ‘He has had that preparation and those testing days. He suggested that something was not quite right in the chassis, but then the team would have to adjust or renew everything. If it doesn’t work, Lawson in,” the former driver says firmly. ‘He rubs his hands and thinks: I can’t wait until Ricciardo is demolished by Tsunoda again. To be honest, it will be demolished again in Japan.’
‘If only Sargeant had taken that holiday to Bali’
Visa Cash App RB scored points with one driver, but Williams only drove with one driver. On Friday morning in Melbourne, Alexander Albon had crashed hard and Williams had not brought any extra chassis. The British racing team decided to let Albon drive Logan Sargeant’s car. The decision was seen as a bit controversial, but on the other hand it was understandable, as Albon had the best chance of scoring points. “If I had been Sargeant, I would have gone completely crazy,” says Van der Garde, who understands both sides of the story. ‘I would have already been on the plane home. He would have been better off in Bali, then he could watch Formula 1 on the beach with a beer. Now he just stood there giving out high fives and autographs.’
