Dr. Helmut Marko suggests that the improvement Daniel Ricciardo experienced from his new monocoque in China might be predominantly psychological.
Amid rumors that Red Bull considers the Australian's performance insufficient at the RB team this year to guarantee a seat in 2025, Ricciardo has faced a tough start to the season alongside Yuki Tsunoda. He successfully petitioned for a new monocoque for the China race, despite sporting boss Alan Permane's skepticism.
In Shanghai, Ricciardo indeed showed notable improvement, yet Marko pointed out that "Tsunoda's laptimes were on par with Ricciardo in the race."
Regarding the chassis update, Marko noted, "The whole thing was planned from the start, as this is our third chassis that we already wanted to put on the track. But of course, this change also played a psychological role after Daniel's disappointing performances on the previous weekends," he elaborated. "Things went much better for Ricciardo in China."
Ricciardo himself acknowledges that the new chassis might be contributing more to his peace of mind than to actual performance improvements.
"So, ok, it's one little box to tick," he commented. "We didn't find anything wrong with what I had, but sometimes these things might be visible, might not be visible. We'll see, but I'm encouraged so far."
