Credits: IMAGO / NurPhoto

Daniel Ricciardo has suffered a massive dip in form ever since he left Red Bull at the end of 2018. Former Ferrari boss Peter Windsor has now explained why the Australian’s decision to leave Milton Keynes was nothing but a blunder. Although the Honey Badger had hoped to succeed elsewhere, he ended up in a downward spiral. Six years have now passed since the 34-year-old left Red Bull and he is still to rediscover his old form again.

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Ricciardo has recently been beaten by V-CARB teammate Yuki Tsunoda comprehensively. Because of Ricciardo’s poor form, Windsor believes that the Australian is battling a lost cause against his teammate this season.

“I don’t see him beating [Yuki] Tsunoda…” said Windsor in his recent YouTube video. The F1 expert, explaining the probable reason behind Ricciardo’s continuous poor form, revealed that the repeated switch from one team to another has impacted the Australian’s driving style and, of course, motivation.

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The dip in Ricciardo’s form has been constant ever since he left Red Bull. At both Renault (2019-20) and McLaren (2021-22), the 34-year-old seemed to have failed to live up to his potential.

Even though he might have won the race in Monza with McLaren in 2022, he has not been consistent at all. Eventually, at the end of 2022, McLaren parted ways with the 34-year-old due to his below-par performances.

Following this, Ricciardo joined the Red Bull fraternity in 2023 as a reserve driver and jumped in their sister team, V-CARB (formerly AlphaTauri), mid-season with ample hype after a fantastic test with Pirelli in Silverstone. However, Ricciardo has failed to impress again ever since.

Can Daniel Ricciardo salvage his F1 career?

Daniel Ricciardo has largely been under the shadow of his V-CARB teammate Yuki Tsunoda this season. Since the Australian has failed to get the better of his Japanese teammate so far this year, Peter Windsor believes that the 23-year-old will even get the better of the Honey Badger in the upcoming race in Suzuka.

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However, there’s a silver lining for Ricciardo. As F1 returns to China after four years, Windsor believes the Shanghai International Circuit race will prove to be fruitful for the 34-year-old. “He [Ricciardo] might beat him [Tsunoda] in Shanghai,” added the F1 expert.

Beating Tsunoda in a race isn’t going to help the former McLaren driver in his quest for the Red Bull seat of Sergio Perez. The Honey Badger needs to outperform the Japanese throughout the season to have any kind of chance of securing a Red Bull return.

However, things can backfire for Daniel Ricciardo at RB as well. Liam Lawson, the reserve driver for Red Bull Racing and RB, is waiting in the wings for a chance, and given how he impressed with his cameo last year, Ricciardo’s underperformance might prompt the team to replace the 34-year-old with the New Zealander.