The Australian had arrived at the Chinese Grand Prix after a difficult start to the season, where he struggled to find rhythm against teammate Yuki Tsunoda and faced questions over his future.
With no obvious explanation for his difficulties, the team believed a well-timed chassis change for this weekend would at least allow the issue to be considered a factor in his form.
And after having perhaps his best weekend of the year against Tsunoda, who struggled to find good setups, Ricciardo says he noticed things were different this weekend.
However, he believed it was far too early to immediately judge whether the chassis change was the cause of the gains or whether it was something else.
“It feels like a more normal weekend,” said Ricciardo, who qualified 12th for Sunday’s Chinese GP.
“I would say right off the bat, yesterday morning, we felt like we were in a better place and everything went – I don’t want to say easier, because that sounds too easy – but yeah, it Everything has gone a little smoother so far this weekend. That’s encouraging, obviously.
“We changed the chassis, [but] I don’t want to jump on this yet and say that this is definitely it. This will obviously have to be proven over the course of a few races. But yes, there was obviously something with the change this weekend.
“This is my best weekend of the year so far. So whether it’s that or whether it’s just that I’ve always done well here, we’ll see. We will see in Miami, in Imola and perhaps in the coming days [races] if this keeps up. »
With the team satisfied there was nothing wrong with the chassis Ricciardo started the season with, the Australian says if things stay at this level for future events he may have to accept that he’ll never know what the problem was. .
“If the next five completely do this kind of 180, so to speak, then I would be able to confidently say, well, maybe we’ll never know what that was.
“Something didn’t feel right with the previous chassis I was riding on.
“I would love to be here five races in and say that, because then that would mean the season has definitely changed and I’ve kind of gotten rid of that monkey.
“We’ll see. But I’m encouraged so far by the two days we’ve had here.
Shanghai is not a normal track, with its long, slow corners making it particularly difficult on the front tires.
But Ricciardo said that despite the unique aspects, there had not been a need for a radical change in approach in how he managed his car.
“This track is generally a little more limited at the front, so it’s probably a little different to the majority of tracks in terms of layout and all that.
“But I would be lying if I said we changed a lot this weekend. There have been a few small changes here and there, but it’s nothing crazy. So yes, let’s see.
“So far, I feel like everything has become more normal. And for now, normal is fine.
The Australian had arrived at the Chinese Grand Prix after a difficult start to the season, where he struggled to find rhythm against teammate Yuki Tsunoda and faced questions over his future.
With no obvious explanation for his difficulties, the team believed a well-timed chassis change for this weekend would at least allow the issue to be considered a factor in his form.
And after having perhaps his best weekend of the year against Tsunoda, who struggled to find good setups, Ricciardo says he noticed things were different this weekend.
However, he believed it was far too early to immediately judge whether the chassis change was the cause of the gains or whether it was something else.
“It feels like a more normal weekend,” said Ricciardo, who qualified 12th for Sunday’s Chinese GP.
“I would say right off the bat, yesterday morning, we felt like we were in a better place and everything went – I don’t want to say easier, because that sounds too easy – but yeah, it Everything has gone a little smoother so far this weekend. That’s encouraging, obviously.
“We changed the chassis, [but] I don’t want to jump on this yet and say that this is definitely it. This will obviously have to be proven over the course of a few races. But yes, there was obviously something with the change this weekend.
“This is my best weekend of the year so far. So whether it’s that or whether it’s just that I’ve always done well here, we’ll see. We will see in Miami, in Imola and perhaps in the coming days [races] if this keeps up. »
With the team satisfied there was nothing wrong with the chassis Ricciardo started the season with, the Australian says if things stay at this level for future events he may have to accept that he’ll never know what the problem was. .
“If the next five completely do this kind of 180, so to speak, then I would be able to confidently say, well, maybe we’ll never know what that was.
“Something didn’t feel right with the previous chassis I was riding on.
“I would love to be here five races in and say that, because then that would mean the season has definitely changed and I’ve kind of gotten rid of that monkey.
“We’ll see. But I’m encouraged so far by the two days we’ve had here.
Shanghai is not a normal track, with its long, slow corners making it particularly difficult on the front tires.
But Ricciardo said that despite the unique aspects, there had not been a need for a radical change in approach in how he managed his car.
“This track is generally a little more limited at the front, so it’s probably a little different to the majority of tracks in terms of layout and all that.
“But I would be lying if I said we changed a lot this weekend. There have been a few small changes here and there, but it’s nothing crazy. So yes, let’s see.
“So far, I feel like everything has become more normal. And for now, normal is fine.