“Planning ahead in this sport is not the right thing to do,” Ricciardo says

As the pressure to renew his seat at RB for 2025 heats up, Daniel Ricciardo says he “just can’t afford to look too far ahead”, instead taking a “race-by-race” approach as the season reaches the halfway mark.

Prior to this weekend’s Hungarian outing, Ricciardo ended the triple header puzzled.

After a week off to reset, however, the Australian arrived at the circuit he made his F1 return at last season with the pieces put together, admitting there were quite a few lessons to be learnt after a difficult British Grand Prix.

“Always things to learn; probably too much at 35, you know I wish there was less but there always is something,” Ricciardo said.

“Some results have definitely been fulfilling for me and have given me that kind of… I guess, kind of what I’m looking for, and yeah, all those things; that belief, that confidence… Things I know I can do.

“I’ve been able to do them, not every weekend and that’s what I’m trying to get to, but at least I’ve done them a few times that give me that kind of understanding that ‘ok, I can do it, it’s in me’.”

During the triple header, Ricciardo scored two points at the Austrian Grand Prix after finishing a dramatic race in ninth place.

Beating Pierre Gasly to the line, Ricciardo boosted his season total to 11 points, placing him in P13 of the Drivers’ Championship.

“I’ve just got to try, whether it’s in myself or with the team, make sure I can extract it more often,” the #3 said.

“There’s the pros and cons with that, but ultimately, we all get into this sport because of a stopwatch.

“And those moments, I’ve still been able to deliver very well on the stopwatch so I think that’s it.

“[Nothing] where it’s like ‘oh, am I getting a bit old of this’ or whatever like you get these things that creep in or people ask questions. 

“Stopwatch doesn’t lie.

“I just got to try do those things more often, but at least it’s still there and that’s what gives me confidence moving forward.”

With his RB seat under threat from an eager Liam Lawson waiting on the sidelines, holding almost half the amount of points his teammate has gathered in 2024 puts the Australian at risk, and with Ricciardo formerly setting a timeline of locking his future in over the summer break, he has limited time to impress the Red Bull higher-ups.

“[I] definitely take it as it comes, you know, you just can’t afford to look too far ahead. 

“You know, planning ahead in this sport is not the right thing to do, so it’s race by race.

“It’s the approach of obviously trying to be present and making sure I’m fully in the moment and giving everything I can and on that given day, so that’s definitely the approach I’m taking.

“It’s also how you’re perceived in this sport. 

“You’re as good as your last race, you know, you can have five bad races and then you have this amazing result and everyone’s like ‘well, yeah, we knew that they could do it’, and it’s one of those ones. 

“Obviously two before the break now, just focused on that.”

“Even, I say two — I’m focusing on this one, and then I’ll focus on Spa after this weekend. 

“But, I’m aware that they’re two important races.”

The Hungarian Grand Prix holds a memorable place in Ricciardo’s heart, being the event in which he replaced Nyck de Vries and rejoined the championship with AlphaTauri last season.

Flashback to 2014, the Hungaroring was also the scene of Ricciardo’s second-ever victory in Formula 1 with Red Bull, seeing the Honey Badger crossing the line in P1 after starting from fourth on the grid.

This weekend, his gage of success differs, with Ricciardo now setting his targets of a Q3 appearance and a sprinkle of points come Sunday afternoon in Budapest.

“Definitely some findings [after Silverstone] let’s say, and somethings… I don’t know, it sounds [like] sometimes it’s always… It’s hard to have a perfect weekend and for everything to go well, driving, mechanical things, so it feels like there’s always something, but that’s kind of the sport we’re in,” he said.

“Things happen and not everything is always as it maybe could or should be, but also, as I said, I always look at myself and there was things in the race which I also know I could have done a bit more here or there, so that’s just how it is.

“It was nice to get a week, a week of no racing as much as I’m enjoying the racing.

“It was probably good for also the team to reset and for everyone to catch their breath, and to come into Budapest now with a lot of excitement, enthusiasm.

“We got two [points] before the break, and as always, two important ones, so ready to go.”

The opening practice session of the Hungarian Grand Prix kicks off tonight at 9:30 PM.

Image: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

2024 Hungarian Grand Prix Schedule:

Friday July 19th:

FP1: 21:30 – 22:30

Saturday July 20th:

FP2: 01:00 – 02:00

FP3: 20:30 – 21:30

Sunday July 21st:

Qualifying: 00:00 – 01:00

Race Start: 23:00

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