Daniel Ricciardo is set to receive a new chassis for the Chinese Grand Prix. The Australian driver has had a challenging start to the season with Visa RB and hopes that the new chassis will resolve his issues. However, Race Director Alan Permane is skeptical about the plans, suggesting that such a component could make little difference to the driver’s performance.
After four races in 2024, the pecking order within Visa RB is clear. Yuki Tsunoda has consistently proven his growth as a driver and readiness for bigger challenges. Daniel Ricciardo, on the other hand, has consistently been outperformed by the Japanese driver. Ricciardo is hopeful that a new chassis for the Chinese Grand Prix will make a difference. After the weekend in Suzuka, he explained what this upgrade could mean for him. “I’m still curious,” he said. “At least it does something for my peace of mind if I can say that it’s not because of that.”
Daniel Ricciardo discussed how he benefited from a specific chassis during his time at McLaren. “After the victory in Monza, they (McLaren) wanted to get rid of my chassis, so I had a new one for the race in Russia. There, I was nowhere to be found,” explained the Visa RB driver. “So there have been times when I doubted, that for whatever reason it didn’t work well. I just want to be sure!”
‘Very illogical’
Within Visa RB, there are doubts about the usefulness of this upgrade. Alan Permane, the race director of Visa RB, finds it “very illogical” that a chassis should make a difference for Ricciardo. “I see the chassis more as a large piece of carbon fiber where we put the suspension, the engine, and the gearbox,” he responded dryly. “It is not likely that it will make a huge difference.”
Permane understands that they must try everything to get Ricciardo back in shape. “It would be good to put away the thought that something is wrong with his car,” he explained. Visa RB is currently sixth in the championship, closely followed by competitor Haas. Tsunoda is so far responsible for all seven points the team scored, Ricciardo did not get further than P12. During the GP of Japan, his race ended prematurely and he recorded the first DNF for the team.
