Formula One: Daniel Ricciardo finding his groove amid doubts over his future

Daniel Ricciardo says he isn’t taking criticism levelled at him by Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko personally as he appears to have found his groove at RB.

The West Australian has finished in the points in two of the last three Grand Prix, finishing eighth in Canada and fighting off a fast-finishing Pierre Gasly to secure ninth in Austria on Sunday.

A terrible upgrade launch in Barcelona rocked the teams’ progress, but the Aussie found his speed in Austrian qualifying despite finishing in the back of the pack in the sprint.

Ricciardo’s points have come at the perfect time, with Marko publicly airing what he called “board concerns” about getting young talent, such as Kiwi Liam Lawson, into an RB seat, given it is the sister team of reigning Constructor’s champions Red Bull.

And with the Aussie now 35 and having had a tumultuous 12 months behind the wheel on top of not being contracted beyond this season, he was an easy mark for Helmut’s critic.

However, Ricciardo says he knows the Austrian maestro respects racers, so that’s what he will focus on.

“I’ve known obviously Helmut such a long time, and at the end of the day, he doesn’t care about personality,” Ricciardo said.

“He goes about is the stopwatch and the classification. He’s a racer, and that’s all he really wants to see from us. That can make him not think great about me, but all of a sudden, think great about me.

“I think this weekend’s helped.

“I feel like that’s three weeks in a row now where I’ve got most out of it. I’m still searching for a bit more perfection, but yeah, three on the bounce.

“At least I can I say I swiped out of the paddock three weekends in a row now on a Sunday, feeling proud. Just got to keep that up.

“As I said, it’s a little bit more consistent now, so just keep it going and hopefully, by the summer break, he’s laying on a beach somewhere saying, ‘Ricciardo, he’s still got it’.”

A late incident between world champion Max Verstappen and rising Brit star Lando Norris boosted Ricciardo’s points haul in Austria.

The Red Bull and McLaren drivers become embroiled in a hostile dogfight for the lead with 15 laps left in the main event, becoming increasingly frustrated at moves from each other they felt were over the line.

It culminated in a collision in the turn four hairpin, with both drivers suffering punctures.

Verstappen lost the lead and finished fifth after a ten-second penalty, while Norris lost so much time he retired the car.

It opened the door for a stunning victory for Mercedes’ young gun George Russell while it helped Ricciardo jump up to ninth, fending off Gasley, having started 11th.

“I don’t remember all the race. I need to probably watch it again to rate how happy I am, but I’m definitely more happy than sad,” Ricciardo said of his drive.

“Obviously, Haas outscored us, but we weren’t quick enough.

“I think also the Alpine was quicker, so to hang on… I think the team helped.

“We had the two hard tyres, we could pit a little bit earlier and capitalise on track position, so they pitted me at the right time, and then I just had to watch the mirrors and try not to f**k up, basically!”