The RB Formula 1 team is set to provide Daniel Ricciardo with a fresh chassis at the upcoming Chinese Grand Prix, aiming to allay any concerns the Australian driver might have regarding his equipment.
Ricciardo’s performance has lagged behind that of his teammate Yuki Tsunoda this season, prompting speculation that there could be issues with his current setup.
However, Racing Director Alan Permane emphasized that the decision to introduce a new chassis had been in the works regardless and wasn’t prompted by doubts about Ricciardo’s current car.
Permane explained, “For me, the chassis is a big lump of carbon that we attach the suspension to, attach an engine to, and a gearbox to.
“It’s really ever so unlikely that there are performance issues with the chassis. However, we have a new one coming through, and it makes sense at all levels to give that to Daniel.”
He further clarified, “With Daniel, maybe it’s good for him to just put that completely to bed, that there any issues with the car.”
While acknowledging that past instances have seen drivers correctly suspect issues with their chassis, Permane expressed confidence that this won’t be the case with Ricciardo’s VCARB 01.
He elaborated, “Sometimes you can measure things, you can put chassis on rigs and check stiffnesses and things like that. The reason I say it’s ever so unlikely is because it really is not a performance differentiator.
“A survival cell is what it’s known as in the regulations, it’s there to mount the front suspension off, to mount the engine off, and to keep the driver safe.
“So I don’t see it as being a performance differentiator, and it’s certainly not something we want to be hopping drivers in and out of. It’s a happy accident that we have one coming, and it doesn’t make sense to give it to Yuki.
“It makes sense to give it to Daniel, but we’re not bringing a new chassis because of his issues, to clear about that. It is just that it all kind of fits together.”
Permane emphasized the importance of addressing Ricciardo’s personal preferences when tuning the car but stressed the need to avoid compromising performance. He stated, “It’s not an easy one because you can address those sorts of things with setup.
“But what you don’t want to do is make the car slower, and we’ve been very cautious not to make it [a] more comfortable but slower car.”
“In a perfect world, you dial it out, give him his confidence, and then slowly creep back to get the maximum performance. There’s no reason that Daniel can’t drive the car like it is, in its quickest form. That’s clear. I’m pretty sure he understands that and that’s what we need to do, is give him the quickest possible car.”
Regarding recent updates to the car, Permane highlighted a revised floor introduced for the Suzuka race. He explained, “It has strakes at the front, it has a new wing down the side of it, and actually a new little detail round the rear tyre.
“It gives us a nice little step of downforce. We’re a little bit hesitant to say it’s going to be fantastic here at Suzuka, it mainly focuses a little bit on lower-speed and here we have a much more high-speed content, so we’re intrigued to see how it will go here.
“We would like a little bit more high-speed performance, that’s why I say we’re a little bit hesitant here. We’ve got upgrades coming in the next couple of races that will target that area.”
