Daniel Ricciardo goes bang in Formula 1 pre-season testing

There were some extremely worrying signs on the first day of Formula 1 testing — but Daniel Ricciardo was not one of them.

Daniel Ricciardo. Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

There were some extremely worrying signs on the first day of Formula 1 testing — but Daniel Ricciardo was not one of them.

The Australian was one of the big surprises on the opening day at the official testing event Bahrain, firing his new Visa Cash App RB, formerly AlphaTauri, to the fourth quickest time.

The very concerning news to emerge from the day’s action was the sight of Max Verstappen crushing the rest of the field to finish more than a second quicker than the rest of the field.

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Three-time world champion gave his struggling rivals little hope for optimism ahead of the new Formula 1 season with just nine days before the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver was more than a second faster than Lando Norris in a McLaren with Carlos Sainz, about to start his final year as a Ferrari driver, in third spot at the Sakhir track where the season-opener takes place on March 2.

Ricciardo was fourth with a time that was 1.2 seconds slower than Verstappen.

The veteran driver was just 0.1 seconds behind Sainz’s time.

Daniel Ricciardo in the pits. Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images.

The 34-year-old showed he still has what it takes by blowing teammate Yuki Tsunoda away. The Japanese driver finished 13th and was 1.2 seconds slower than his teammate.

There was one moment of drama for Ricciardo during his long run after the left wing mirror on Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin fell onto the track.

Ricciardo swiped his car to the side to dodge the debris at the last second while German driver Nico Hulkenberg drove straight into it, smashing the mirror to pieces with his front left tyre.

Daniel Ricciardo proving there's nothing wrong with his reflexes after dodging Lance Stroll's broken wing mirror! 🫨#F1#F1Testingpic.twitter.com/HAzVNjYuYV

— Autosport (@autosport) February 21, 2024

Aussie Oscar Piastri wasn’t able to get a lot out of his McLaren and finished ninth on the time sheets.

Just one day into the season it is already clear the game of musical chairs will continue to fascinate fans following Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari next year.

It is no secret that Ricciardo and a number of other drivers are actively chasing Red Bull driver Sergio Perez’s seat for the 2025 season.

🏁 DAY ONE CLASSIFICATION 🏁

Verstappen leads the way, chased by Norris, Sainz and Ricciardo 👀#F1Testing#F1pic.twitter.com/CIQYiaOULM

— Formula 1 (@F1) February 21, 2024

Sainz, meanwhile, will lose his seat at Ferrari to seven-time world champion Hamilton who is entering his last campaign behind the wheel of a Mercedes. Hamilton will be in action on Thursday.

The biggest talking point to emerge from the day’s action was unsurprisingly Verstappen’s dominance.

Verstappen’s performance was a boost for a Red Bull team reeling from an investigation into team chief Christian Horner who has been accused of “inappropriate behaviour” by a female member of staff.

“It feels good to be back in an F1 car again and I had fun out on track today. We covered a lot of laps and tried quite a few things with the car, which was important, so happy overall with how it went,” said Verstappen.

Daniel Ricciardo had a good day. Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images.

Horner faced questioning for eight hours at an internal hearing in London earlier in February after allegations emerged in the Dutch press of a complaint being made against the 50-year-old Englishman by a female employee.

Horner categorically denies the accusation while Formula 1 chiefs said they want the issue resolved at the “earliest opportunity”.

Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff described the investigation as “an issue for all of Formula One”.

“Red Bull has started as an independent investigation, if this is done in the right way with transparency and with rigour, I think that’s something that we need to look at — what the outcomes are and what it means for Formula One, and how we can learn from that,” Wolff told a news conference.

“We want to talk about racing cars and we want to talk about the sport rather than these kind of very critical topics, that are more just a team’s issue, it’s a phenomenon or it’s an issue for all of Formula One and in general for every individual that works out there.”

Horner is scheduled to appear at a press conference in Bahrain on Friday. At the launch of this season’s Red Bull car held last week, he insisted he had no intention of resigning.

“No. It’s business as usual,” he said.

“There obviously is a process. Obviously, I fully deny any accusations that have been made against me but of course I’ll work with that process, which I hope is concluded in the near future.”

— with AFP