Ricciardo hopes Q3 failure at F1 Austrian GP will 'shut everyone up' – Motorsport Week

Daniel Ricciardo hopes his promising performance in qualifying for the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix will “keep everyone a little quieter” amid rumors about his future.

Ricciardo approached the race weekend with questions centered around comments from Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko about Liam Lawson replacing him at RB in 2025.

Marko's comments stem from Ricciardo's struggles to produce consistent results this season, with his ambition to return to Red Bull's parent team diminished.

Ricciardo's need to extract more competitive outings took a turn for the worse at the Red Bull Ring as he crashed out of Sprint Qualifying in Q1 as RB's problems with the updates persisted.

However, the Australian, who insisted he wanted to stay at RB, bounced back from that setback to finish 0.010s behind after carrying his car to Q3 in qualifying.

Ricciardo believes his struggles throughout this campaign have been exaggerated, as he stressed the gap to team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was never excessive.

“I know my year… sure, I had some little highlights, but overall it's not what I expected and what I expect from myself,” said he declared.

“When you're not kicking ass, of course you're going to get some harsh criticism. But at certain times, it's likely to explode.

“I don't think the gap has ever been, or rarely, half a second or something like that with Yuki. Last week, yes, he made me gain less than a tenth.

“I also think he's gotten a lot of praise, so I'm not getting my ass kicked by someone who's not very fast. I think everyone recognizes that he has very good pace over a lap.

“But the battle between teammates is obviously being watched closely and today we're obviously happy to do a few laps and maybe keep everyone a little bit calmer.”

Earlier this week, Ricciardo admitted he was avoiding being drawn into speculation by insisting strong performances would transform the perception of his season.

“I think I'm in control right now, so I have to do everything I can to control the things I can,” Ricciardo explained.

“If I do well here, if I do well at Silverstone, then I think the narrative can change. I think I obviously have to embrace that and be on top of what I can do.

“Yes. I’m sure my fifth place in qualifying in Montreal made Helmut smile. If I can do that a few more times, I’m sure I’ll make him smile.

“It’s always very performance-driven, and yeah, stay focused on that.”