‘Ricciardo is so finished’ - Pressure mounts on F1 star after MAJOR Japanese GP accident

Daniel Ricciardo faces an uphill battle as he continues to struggle so far in the 2024 Formula 1 season.

The Australian driver retired on lap one of the Japanese Grand Prix after tangling with Williams' Alex Albon.

READ MORE: What the 2025 F1 grid looks like after MASSIVE Hamilton move

Both drivers were ok, but their cars suffered major damage and a red flag was forced to enable repairs to the barrier which had been opened up by the smash.

It comes at a pretty bad time for Ricciardo, who was just starting to build some momentum and show some impressive pace following a slow start to the season.

READ MORE: F1 Driver Salaries 2024: Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton WAY out in front

Where does this leave Daniel Ricciardo?

He was less than a tenth of a second from making Q3 in qualifying after having one true practice session to prepare, but was pipped by team-mate Yuki Tsunoda in the final seconds of Q2.

His retirement means that Tsunoda is now 4-0 up against him in both the qualifying and race head-to-heads.

Time is running out for him to make a significant impact and he risks getting bogged down by a lot of negativity after a poor run of results.

The ‘Honey Badger’ is now drawing criticism from fans, who aren’t in support of his Formula 1 comeback story and how it has panned out for him so far.

daniel ricciardo is so cooked

— isaiah✰ (@tlop444) April 7, 2024

Another fan made this Ferrari-themed graphic to highlight the Aussie's struggles.

An inspirational message for Ricciardo during this tough time 💜 pic.twitter.com/gbBUEuTdhb

— Buc Nasty 🏁 (@premystic) April 6, 2024

Someone else pointed out that Liam Lawson - who lurks in the VCARB wings for an F1 seat, appeared again on screen after Ricciardo crashed.

- ricciardo makes a mistake
- camera cuts to liam lawson

broadcast director: pic.twitter.com/942Dhh9xMW

— noelle faulkner (@noelleflamingo) April 6, 2024

And finally, not everyone agrees with the harsh criticism of the eight-time race winner.

Blaming Ricciardo for that is insane like what’s he supposed to do? Just brake in the middle of the track to let Stroll and Albon pass?

— Rhys 🇦🇺❗️ (@SulloReport) April 7, 2024

READ MORE: Lawson fires Red Bull WARNING over controversial choice

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