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Ricciardo on Perez contract extension

Ricciardo reflects on losing out to Perez in battle for Red Bull seat

6 June at 19:01
2
  • Tygo Bekkema

The announcement of Sergio Perez's new Red Bull deal has not disappointed Ricciardo. The Australian, currently driving for sister team VCARB, stated on the Thursday ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix that he remains combative but needs to improve his own results first.

"I don't think it means anything like ‘oh, that's it’. I don't see it as, ‘oh maybe I won't get a chance or anything’," Ricciardo told several media outlets, including GPblog. He continued: "Personally, I've had one amazing result in Miami. But then the rest of my season has not been what I expected out of myself. I want my season to go better than it is to really help with any opportunities like that. I'm also realistic."

Ricciardo hopes for survival in Formula 1

Ricciardo says he is making small steps forward and argues that his priorities lie elsewhere at the moment. "Each weekend maybe it's one step forward…I still want it to be progressing quicker. But I do think we are taking steps. I still believe I can turn it around, just do better moving forward. And, yeah, just kick some butt. And obviously if I'm here next year, then that'll also make me happy."

The Australian himself believes that he did not do enough so that Red Bull would replace Sergio Perez with him instead. "I hold myself accountable for not doing anything too spectacular. When you're trying to fight for a top seat you need to be doing some pretty awesome things. I don't think it means it will never happen. It's still a place I'd love to finish my career. But obviously in the now short term, that's not going to happen."

So far this season, Yuki Tsunoda has scored a point everytime except for one when he had to retire since the Australian Grand Prix. Ricciardo hopes that with the new chassis he got back in China, he needs 'smooth' and the performance will come for him too. "I know I still have the speed. I’ve maybe just had to work a little bit too hard to fight for that consistency at the moment. Since Monaco, took a good look at myself. I don't think I need to flip the thing upside down, but it's making one or two changes here and there. Just give me that extra little bit to make a weekend smoother and then keep that momentum going."

This article was written in collaboration with Kada Sarkozi.