Daniel Ricciardo Receives Huge Boost From RB to Put Him on Equal Footing With Yuki Tsunoda for the Chinese GP

Daniel Ricciardo is evidently having a difficult season, with rumors of his spot on the grid being compromised surfacing all over the news. What he needs, according to him, is a more competitive car. On the Racing Bulls team, teammate Yuki Tsunoda is performing much better than Ricciardo, and the team’s sporting director, Alan Permane, is trying to pinpoint the problem.

After seeing how his performance was deteriorating, the team came up with a solution. Although Permane thinks it’s a futile attempt, the change is going to be made either way to rule out all factors for the RB not performing. But will this change make any difference?

Is Daniel Ricciardo getting a new chassis?

No doubt Daniel Ricciardo is one of the most loved drivers on the grid, with a great record over the years. And maybe for the same reasons, Alan Permane spoke to Speedcafe and said that he is ready to put in the work to give Ricciardo a car that can help him score more points for the team. So far, he has yet to score a single point, and to make that happen, he will be getting a new chassis. Along with that, there will be a few other upgrades to see if the problem can be identified and fixed.

Regarding the chassis upgrade, Alan Permane stated, “For me, the chassis is a big lump of carbon that we attach the suspension to, attach an engine to, and a gearbox to.”  Explaining why he believes the chassis change won’t make a difference, he said, “It’s really ever so unlikely that there are performance issues with the chassis.”

But the team’s decision is to change the current chassis to single out everything that could be wrong with Ricciardo’s car. Permane stated, “However, we have a new one coming through, it makes sense at all levels to give that to Daniel, not least that Yuki is super happy and super comfortable where he is.”

The fact that Yuki Tsunoda is not getting these major changes to his car brought up thoughts of favoritism, which were immediately shut down by Alan Permane when he said, “We don’t have a preference on drivers. With Daniel, maybe it’s good for him to just put that completely to bed, that there aren’t any issues with the car.” 

But the situation with Ricciardo’s car is difficult to figure out, as the team has yet to pinpoint what the real problem is. Let’s see how the chassis replacement goes for the RB car.

Alan Permane’s take on Daniel Ricciardo’s situation

The issue with Daniel Ricciardo’s car is “not an easy one,” says Permane. Explaining how things can be changed in the setup, but at the risk of making the car slower. That is something they want to avoid, and that means there are compromises with the comfort of the car. According to Permane, “In a perfect world, you’d dial it out and give him his confidence and slowly creep back to get the maximum performance.”

Alan Permane believes that Ricciardo should be able to drive the car in its quickest form, as Yuki Tsunoda is currently doing, and he believes there is no reason why the 8-time race winner should not get results. Either way, the chassis will be replaced along with a few more parts to make the car quicker.

That being said, do you think this will be what Daniel Ricciardo needs to make it back into the game? Is it his break from racing that is affecting his performance, or is it the car that is a real problem? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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