Helmut Marko turns up the heat on Daniel Ricciardo, warning that the Australian "has to come up with something soon".

Drafted into AlphaTauri following the decision to drop Nyck de Vries after just ten outings last year, the popular Australian was sidelined after just two races after crashing during the second practice session for the Dutch Grand Prix.

Returning for the United States Grand Prix, despite the support of much of the British media, Ricciardo's best result was in Mexico where he finished seventh.

Ironically, Liam Lawson, who had taken over Ricciardo's car in much the same way that Oliver Bearman was drafted in to replace Carlos Sainz last weekend, scored points in just his third outing.

Meanwhile, as the media dreamed of an all-Antipodean line-up for the Italian squad in 2024, Yuki Tsunoda raised his game and came within a hair's breadth of leapfrogging Williams in the Constructors' Championship.

In the opening two races of this season, Tsunoda has out-qualified Ricciardo at both events, and despite the senseless squabble over team orders in Bahrain, was only prevented from opening his points account in Jeddah by the doggedness of Haas and Kevin Magnussen.

Describing his lack of pace in qualifying in Jeddah as a mystery, Ricciardo admitted to making a mistake in the race which caused him to spin.

Despite other goings on with the Red Bull camp, at a time some were eyeing a return to the big team for Ricciardo, Helmut Marko has warned the Australian to raise his game, the clear inference being that much like de Vries was dropped last season, Liam Lawson is ready and waiting in the wings.

"There's a lot at stake this season for both Yuki and Daniel," writes Marko in his regular column for Speedweek. "Yuki's qualifying was very good, and Ricciardo has to come up with something soon.

"At least Tsunoda is very good in qualifying," he added. "Then they are in the points in the first stint, only to fall further behind afterwards. Whether they are putting too much strain on the tyres or there are other reasons is what you need to find out."

"The reason I'm staying optimistic is because I know that we had some things wrong," said Ricciardo, just days ahead of his home race. "With a good car and everything sorted, I know we can do a lot better.

"A painful three days," he admitted, "but I don't want it to take any confidence out of us.

"We have a week off now, and there will be a big push from everyone to get it right and make sure we have a good package for the next race. I know the team wants it as badly as I do. I'm excited to go back racing in Melbourne, so let's get ready for it."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by kenji, 19/03/2024 0:07

"If anyone is still interested I have finally found the full race elapsed times for all drivers at the Jeddah GP. According to the FIA Ricciardo finished 10.5 secs behind Tsunoda. That was after a spin. It needs to be taken into account that he lost ,at the very least, a further full 38 secs in a botched pit stop. [ 41 secs less 3 seconds allowed for a normal pit stop ] That would've placed him around 10th/11th!!! The current pile on by certain elements wishing to denigrate Ricciardo is quite disturbing. Then again that's what one would expect when there are too many clowns and only one circus."

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2. Posted by kenji, 18/03/2024 0:46

"We now have the Irish loudmouth getting on to the bandwagon. Jordan is so full of himself. Race 1 could quite easily have resulted in a chance for points if Tsunoda had complied immediately with the team orders. By the time he got around to compliance DR's tyres had lost their edge. Race2 a first lap incident followed by a ludicrous '41' second pit stop finished DR's race there and then. Yes, a late spin due to, I suggest, a lack of concentration did not look too good. DR would be the first to acknowledge that. To cap it off Marko seems to be laying the groundwork for penalising a driver that is fully supported by the Team Principal. Daniel needs to have a good race in Melbourne but if the car is not good enough....... "

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3. Posted by kenji, 16/03/2024 2:28

"@Malemoi....Marko is also a very political animal and the current hoo har is evidence of that. The fact that DR is closely aligned with CH also needs to be seen in light of where allegiances lie. As a consideration in summary he is just so close to the Verstappens that he could almost be considered 'family'. "

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4. Posted by kenji, 16/03/2024 2:24

"@ SteveMac...exactly so. Good analysis. I am still trying to find the 'gap in seconds' bewteen DR and Tsunoda at chequer flag? Any ideas?"

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5. Posted by SteveMac, 15/03/2024 23:31

"No question RIC had a tough Quali, he admitted that they just didn't have any more pace, that the setup wasn't delivering grip and he made a mistake.

However when you look at the race result with the 42 second pit stop, he did an amazing job to get back to end the race 1 place behind Yuki. Look at the race data, he was pushing like hell going for SER yet managing to keep the tyres in reasonable condition. Without the pit stop issue, points were absolutely on the cards.

Yuki IMHO wasted a great opportunity for points in that race, he had a quick car. Shame about the penalty, but he just didn't go anywhere."

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6. Posted by Malemoi, 15/03/2024 12:53

"Marko is trying to make up for his below average performance as a driver. He is a grumpy old goat full of his own self of self importance"

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7. Posted by Burton, 14/03/2024 12:53

"Thank you @editor and good on Marko, for once, for mentioning Tsunoda. Guy is the most disrespected driver on the grid. Writers elsewhere and the fans just place their preference for Lawson and Daniel as if it's a given they'll outperform the other car."

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8. Posted by JamesD, 14/03/2024 12:01

"Helmut Marko turns up the heat on Daniel Ricciardo, warning that the Australian "has to come up with something soon". I thought every season was taken on it's own merit - we're only 2 races in !!

Give it a rest Helmut, perhaps permanently - surely there's enough in the pension pot by now."

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9. Posted by TokyoAussie, 14/03/2024 8:57

"It pains me to say this, but I agree with Marko. I don't know where Ricciardo lost his mojo, but he hasn't found it. If anything, he's going backwards. He has to pull the finger out if he wants to stay."

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10. Posted by kenji, 14/03/2024 0:16

"@ Editor....do you have access to the elapsed times for the race? I can't seem to find any and to put Ricciardo's race result into any form of context it would be helpful. The question I have is...was there more than 41 secs between Tsunoda and DR at the finish line? Merci."

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11. Posted by Editor, 13/03/2024 22:44

"@ Team Hack

"One eye on Lawson"

Cruel... so very cruel ;-)"

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12. Posted by Team Hack, 13/03/2024 19:46

"Maybe the team,with one eye on Lawson,are having second thoughts..."

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13. Posted by Bill Hopgood, 13/03/2024 18:22

"Interesting in that it's usually the Monaco weekend that Red Bull drivers with an iron clad contract are "let go".
This is quite a bit earlier than that.
As is usual, the team will be comparing the data from both the RB cars and that will drive their decision, in the meantime this is a good distraction from other Red Bull related chatter going on."

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14. Posted by Wokingchap, 13/03/2024 16:20

"I really like Daniel, but it seems he just can't find his mojo lately........hope he can, I suppose the car doesn't help"

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15. Posted by ClarkwasGod, 13/03/2024 13:58

"You may not like him, or his outspokenness, but Marko has all the credentials as a former racer - Le Mans winner in the fearsome 917, and who knows what he might have achieved had that stone not taken his eye.

As a long time fan of Daniel, I am disappointed with his performances thus far in '24 - for whatever reason, he seems a way away from his past years, and I was already concerned he might face the RB axe - racing with a sword hanging over him."

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Marko warns Ricciardo to up his game

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