Daniel Ricciardo bounces back after qualy nightmare at Dutch Grand Prix

Daniel Ricciardo has opened up after the latest Formula 1 race as his future on the grid continues to remain under heavy speculation.

Daniel Ricciardo walked away feeling positive. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

Daniel Ricciardo has bounced back from a nightmare qualifying session at the Dutch Grand Prix.

The Australian Formula 1 driver has walked away from the race on Sunday feeling positive after overcoming a horror outing on Saturday.

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Ricciardo qualified 16th but started the race from 15th on the grid and on a tough overtaking track, crossed the line in 12th.

The 35-year-old beat teammate Yuki Tsunoda who went past the line in 17th place, a boost to the hopes of Ricciardo for next season.

“I think actually it was a good race,” Ricciardo said after the race.

“My frustration and that yesterday was, I think, ultimately more in myself than anything.

“Yes, we could have done a bit more in hindsight with the car, maybe made some bigger changes from the first to second set of tyres to help a bit with my feeling.

“But at the end of the day, it’s tricky for everyone. Everyone was having difficulties so at some point you’ve got to just try and make it work.

“Deep down, I was just disappointed that I didn’t make it work.”

Ricciardo bounced back after his qualifying nightmare. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

While he finished outside of the points, Ricciardo is hopeful the strong race will be just the start for a strong finish to the 2024 season.

“Wasn’t good enough for points, but I think we actually had a strong race,” he added.

“I leave more positive than I did yesterday. I wasn’t like yesterday was a crisis, it was just some internal frustration.

“You want to start the second half of the season on point, and I felt like I didn’t start the way I’d envisioned. But today, we picked up some of the pieces.”

Ricciardo could know his Formula 1 fate as soon as next month with Red Bull reportedly setting a September deadline to decide its 2025 driver line-up.

Red Bull’s driver line-up will be decided next month. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

The Aussie remains the only driver in the Red Bull stable without a contract for next season with adviser Helmut Marko stating New Zealand youngster Liam Lawson will be getting his chance.

Lawson has long been rumoured to have a clause in his contract that would allow him to do a deal with another team were Red Bull not to offer him a full-time contract by September.

Outside of the second RB seat, only the future Audi team have an opening for the 2025 season. Marko quashed speculation that Lawson would be allowed to slip through the net to another team.

“Next year he will definitely be driving one of our cars,” he told Austrian paper Kleine Zeitung.

The comments amplify the pressure on both Ricciardo and Sergio Perez with three more races to come before the end of September.

Originally published as Daniel Ricciardo bounces back after qualy nightmare at Dutch Grand Prix