Ricciardo: It was clear I needed to pick it up

While Liam Lawson was passed over by VCARB and Red Bull in favor of the Ricciardo, the latter is yet to prove their decision was correct struggling to affirm his authority over teammate Yuki Tsunoda, which is least to be expected from him.

Following the Belgian Grand Prix a race he finished 11th and got promoted to tenth after George Russell's disqualification, Ricciardo reflected on the first part of his 2024 F1 season.

He said: "I would have loved the whole first half [of the season] to have been strong – it wasn’t the case. I obviously had my struggles in the first kind of half of [this] half, and it was clear I needed to pick it up and find something.

"[When] I look back, since Montreal, the pressure probably started to build, [but] – other than Silverstone, which was a bit of an outlier – I feel like the races have been much more in line with what I’m capable of, and I feel like I’m leaving the weekend feeling much more content, fulfilled.

"It’s important I was able to do that, and [it] leaves me entering the break with much more of a spring in my step. Looking ahead, yeah, [I’m] excited. Excited to get back and get out there in Zandvoort," the Australian maintained.

Ricciardo insisted his Belgian Grand Prix was a "really strong race" but was gutted that he finished just out of the points in 11th. He was speaking before Russell was disqualified and he was classified tenth.

"I am," he responded when asked if he was happy with his performance. "It’s kind of like yesterday, I was actually really quite pleased with what we did. It just unfortunately wasn’t good enough to get rewarded. Sometimes 11th is quite cruel – one point for us is a big deal.

"Every point counts in this midfield battle," the 35-year-old pointed out. "I feel like we did a really strong race, but unfortunately some other guys also did a strong race. We had 10th with a few laps to go, but Ocon was… I do think Ocon was just genuinely a bit quicker and he had a bit of a fresher tyre as well.

"We tried to hold on but, yeah, a few laps short. A shame but also sometimes you can only do the best you can, and I think for that we leave here – [from] the whole weekend as a whole – with a smile and head held high," Ricciardo concluded.

In all cases it seems that Red Bull are content to keep Ricciardo at VCARB for the time being, as they confirmed he will see the 2024 F1 season through with the Faenza squad. Nothing is confirmed for 2025 though.