Daniel Ricciardo was all smiles after his performance at the Austrian Grand Prix following a week of turmoil which suggested that his Formula One future was in serious jeopardy.
Ricciardo, 34, finished ninth in his Visa Cash App RB – making it the second time he’s finished among the points in his last three races.
The Aussie is under the microscope after Red Bull chief Helmut Marko conducted an interview with Austrian publication Kleine Zeitung in which he said discussions were being held about giving his seat to Liam Lawson.
However, with his recent performances Ricciardo believes he’s found the form he’s been searching for.
‘I feel like that’s three weeks in a row now where I’ve got most out of it,’ he said.
‘Still searching for a bit more perfection but yeah, three on the bounce.
‘At least I can I say I swiped out of the paddock three weekends in a row now on a Sunday, feeling proud.
‘Just got to keep that up.’
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Daniel Ricciardo (pictured) was happy with his performance at the Austrian GP
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Ricciardo’s Formula One career has been in serious jeopardy after a patchy season
It was a defensive and error-free race from Ricciardo in Austria, and the Australian feels it has helped his cause with Marko.
‘I’ve known obviously Helmut such a long time, and at the end of the day he doesn’t care about personality,’ Ricciardo explained.
‘He goes about is the stopwatch and the classification. He’s a racer, and that’s all he really wants to see from us.
‘That can make him not think great about me to all of a sudden think great about me.
‘I think this weekend’s helped,’ he continued.
‘As I said, it’s a little bit more consistent now, so just keep it going and hopefully by the summer break he’s laying on a beach somewhere saying ‘Ricciardo, he’s still got it’.’
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Red Bull boss Helmet Marko said that youngster Liam Lawson is in line to take Ricciardo’s seat
Ex-F1 driver Jolyon Palmer was also impressed with Ricciardo’s race in Austria.
‘I think Ricciardo has been doing well,’ he said on F1 TV.
‘When you think Canada two races ago he qualified fifth. He got some points even though he got a penalty for creeping at the start. It’s not that long ago he had the Miami heroics in the sprint.
‘Anytime he doesn’t do well, it’s a headline now because he’s under pressure, but he’s actually been low key picking up some results recently.
‘He’s very inconsistent and we talk about him more when he’s down than when he’s having the good moments. Again, banking some points, beating Yuki (Tsunoda) this weekend. I think he’s doing his future some good right now.’
