Daniel Ricciardo makes brutally honest four-word admission as Aussie's Formula One future hangs by a thread

Daniel Ricciardo has accepted that questions over his Formula One future are warranted, with the under-fire Aussie facing a race against time to secure his seat for 2025.

Ricciardo, 34, was offered an F1 lifeline at Red Bull's junior team, RB, with the hope that strong drives would open the door for a return to the world champions as Max Verstappen's teammate next year.

However, a slow start to 2024 meant that Red Bull opted to stay with Sergio Perez and attention has turned to Ricciardo's place at RB, with young Kiwi driver Liam Lawson snapping at his heels. 

But in an interview with F1's official website, Ricciardo said he is only focusing on the things he can control.  

'That's what I'm telling myself,' he said.

'The sport is so competitive now. Yes, there's marketing and other things involved in this sport/business. But at the end of the day, the stopwatch doesn't lie – and that's my best way to keep doing this for longer.' 

Ricciardo has out-performed teammate Yuki Tsunoda in three of the past four races, but was left to rue poor qualifying strategy at the British Grand Prix last time out.

He revealed what motivates him as F1 enters the latter half of the season.  

'It's a frustration because I look at myself in the mirror and say I can do this very, very well so how do I make sure I do it consistently? Because if I do, I'm laughing. But it's more positive than negative,' he said.

'There will be a day when I won't be able to do it as good, but I'd much rather have these sporadic good days that it shows I've still got those capabilities to do something great – and then it's up to me to unlock it more often.

'There will be tough days ahead, there will be lows, but I still love the anticipation of a race week, I love the opportunity.

'There's the curiosity – could this week be a standout week, could something special happen? I still believe it can – so that's where that excitement still lies and remains.

'The competition is great. Of course I have won before, and I love nothing more than winning, but right now, scoring points is our little victory – so that's the fight.

'If I have managed to do that, I'll leave the track happy – and I'm sure I'll have fun.'