Half three of our F1 crew mate head-to-heads sequence seems to be at how the RB drivers measure up towards one another to date.
Crimson Bull’s choice to maintain the under-performing in Sergio Perez their line-up must be seen partly as a judgement on the efficiency of the 2 drivers of their second crew.
Had both Yuki Tsunoda or Ricciardo persistently overwhelmed the opposite, would Crimson Bull have thought-about giving them an opportunity in Perez’s automobile?
The likelihood Ricciardo may return to Crimson Bull was clearly an element of their choice to rent him after his early exit from McLaren on the finish of 2022, then eject Liam Lawson from RB mid-season final 12 months to make manner for him. However solely now, 12 months on, is he displaying indicators of turning into the crew’s main driver.
Over the opening races of the season it was all about Tsunoda. Earlier than RB took a unsuitable flip with their automobile growth, spearheading their runs into the decrease reaches of the factors positions, doing so 5 instances over the primary eight rounds.
This was the form of efficiency Tsunoda wanted to start out displaying in his fourth season of F1. However any hopes he may get to exchange Perez for 2025 was dashed when Crimson Bull prolonged his contract two months in the past.
Following hypothesis Crimson Bull might activate an early exit clause in Perez’s contract and substitute him through the summer season break, the crew once more confirmed he’ll stay within the automobile. However by the stage the winds had shifted at RB.
Ricciardo’s radio messages at instances sound like a near-constant stream of pointers, recommendation and suggestions from race engineer Pierre Hamelin. They seem like having the specified impact, as his performances in comparison with Tsunoda have clearly improved during the last half-dozen races.
Rightly or wrongly, Crimson Bull give the impression of not being totally satisfied by Tsunoda, whereas ready to attend and see if Ricciardo will unlock the important thing to commonly repeating the form of type he produced within the Miami dash race this 12 months or Mexican Grand Prix final 12 months. That sense that the peaks of the RB are greater than both driver are commonly hitting is maybe why each are going nowhere in the interim.
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Ricciardo vs Tsunoda: Season abstract
Ricciardo vs Tsunoda: Race-by-race
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Unrepresentative comparisons omitted. Damaging worth: Ricciardo was quicker; Optimistic worth: Tsunoda was quicker
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