P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Guenther Steiner believes going up against team-mates who could beat him had an impact which contributed to Daniel Ricciardo’s decline in F1.
Ricciardo’s F1 career seems to have come to an end after Red Bull Racing announced last week that he would not finish the remaining six rounds, with Liam Lawson taking his place. The Australian driver’s comeback to Red Bull last season aimed at securing a return to the team he left in 2018. Unfortunately, Ricciardo struggled to outperform Yuki Tsunoda consistently and ended up 10 points behind his less experienced teammate in the Drivers’ Championship. His difficulties can be linked back to his challenging time at McLaren, where Lando Norris outperformed him in consecutive seasons and led to a mutual agreement for Ricciardo’s exit. The pressure and scrutiny on Ricciardo throughout the season might have contributed to his struggles, with the team indicating that openness to driver changes could have impacted his performance negatively. Despite this, his skill in driving has not diminished, but he seems to be struggling mentally to cope with the expectations and pressure.
