This weekend in China, Daniel Ricciardo will compete on a fresh RB chassis, which he claims will help him decompress.

After a challenging start to his complete F1 comeback, the Australian driver who won the 2018 Chinese Grand Prix for Red Bull returns to Shanghai in 2024 without having scored a point.

A fresh chassis is given to Daniel Ricciardo for the Chinese Grand Prix.In an attempt to make sure there isn’t a problem with the car he was given for the first races, RB has given eight-time Grand Prix winner Ricciardo a new chassis for this weekend after he struggled to keep up with teammate Yuki Tsunoda during their season’s first few races.

When questioned about whether the chassis would arrive in time for the Chinese Grand Prix, he responded, “Yeah, so that’s good,” to reporters in Shanghai.

“I’ve been very outspoken about it, of course, as I’ve been having some difficulties this year, but to be clear, it was always the intention to debut that chassis here.

“By race five, it was evidently just raising my hand whenever it was ready and saying, ‘I’ll take it.’ I’m not sure whether anyone else is either.

“Yeah, let me try it. It was the earliest convenience, and Yuki is happy with his, so it’s just one small box to tick now and make sure that we’re all okay for peace of mind.”

The Australian driver claimed that the introduction of a new chassis was solely to eliminate the possibility that the original chassis Ricciardo raced with between the Bahrain and Japanese Grands Prix had a problem that could account for his inability to keep up with Tsunoda, despite the fact that he was able to do so during his stints with the team the previous season.

He declared, “We haven’t discovered any issues with what I had.”

However, these things may or may not be apparent at times.

But once more, it’s merely to break the habit and my thoughts. Nevertheless, my attitude toward the weekend remains unchanged even if I were to reclaim my old chassis.

“I still have faith that I can accomplish something. Though it’s only a small amount right now, I have no doubt that it will eventually be helpful in some way.

Daniel Ricciardo: I have no worries about being handled similarly to Nyck de Vries.Coming back to the place of one of his most well-known victories, where he passed Red Bull’s Valtteri Bottas in an exciting finish line battle, Ricciardo expressed optimism about the weekend ahead of him, citing his new chassis and familiarity with a track that many of the current grid have never raced on.

“I believe returning here will be beneficial,” he remarked.

“You know, I still have a lot of confidence in my ability to succeed and I look forward to every weekend.” Though I don’t think it has happened to the extent I had hoped or desired, I also don’t think I’ll be entering a weekend with a sense of “Oh, we’re on the backfoot” or “Oh, can I do it?” Can I not?

We don’t have a full practice weekend, but it doesn’t mean I’m lacking anything in terms of feeling from the car. I still have a lot of confidence in my ability to perform.

Therefore, I don’t think I need to practice for a whole week to catch up. I feel completely at ease and confident because this weekend is the same for everyone.

“Obviously, Suzuka, I missed the Friday and was a little behind with just track time, but it’s good that everyone has the same schedule this weekend.”

In order to bring Ricciardo back last year, RB (then AlphaTauri) carelessly fired struggling Dutch driver Nyck de Vries after he had a rough start to the season.

Ricciardo stated he isn’t worried about being treated similarly despite the Australian being under the same kind of pressure to deliver, citing his considerably more extensive F1 experience and accomplishments.

When asked if he was concerned that he would have the same fate as De Vries, he responded, “No, there isn’t.”

I’m not naïve either, but anything can happen, but I haven’t seen any signs of it. Once more, it probably has something to do with what I did in the past, but I believe they are aware that even in the previous year, I shown all the speed and attributes that I may not have always displayed with McLaren.

We therefore thought we had something back from me. Alright, for whatever reason, it hasn’t fully manifested itself this year, but I believe they are aware of its existence. They are able to observe what we are doing on the simulator as well. Thus, the time to put things together is now.