'We're making big boy decisions' – Ricciardo says he 'wouldn't feel comfortable' if RB were still a junior team as he reflects on rebrand

Daniel Ricciardo has spoken positively about the development of the RB team amid the arrival of new leadership this year, with the Australian admitting that he “wouldn't feel comfortable” if the outfit still felt like a “junior team”.

Ricciardo made his return to the squad midway through the 2023 season, having previously raced for the then-called Toro Rosso outfit during the early days of his Formula 1 career back in 2012 and 2013.

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In the years since the team have undergone two name changes as well as moving away from their earlier image as a junior team, where young drivers would develop their skills amid the possibility of a promotion to the senior Red Bull squad.

Another key change occurred at the close of 2023, with long-term Team Principal Franz Tost opting to retire. Laurent Mekies subsequently took over the role for 2024, while Peter Bayer joined as CEO and Alan Permane was appointed as Racing Director, while Tim Goss will become Chief Technical Officer in October.

As such, Ricciardo has admitted that the feel within the team has evolved in recent times.

“It does feel different, and I think it's easy to kind of rebrand it and say we’ve got a new look and with this and that, but your actions have to follow,” the 35-year-old said during the Belgian Grand Prix weekend.

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“And I think Laurent, Peter, Alan, a lot of guys that have come in have done that. It's not that what was happening in the past with Franz, in that example, wasn't the right thing, but a change sometimes is good.

“You bring in new ideas. They've all spent time in other teams, organisations, and yeah, it's just a new way of looking at things. I think that in itself and their intentions and the way they go about it has made people kind of stand up and say, alright, this isn't a junior team anymore.”

Having been in F1 for over a decade, Ricciardo has welcomed RB’s transition away from their junior team status.

“We're making, kind of, big boy decisions, and we're taking risks and we're setting targets and high targets, and ones that we realistically think that we can attain,” the eight-time race winner explained.

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“So, it's cool. It's cool to see it. I'm probably too, in a way, like honest in myself that if it felt like a junior team still, I wouldn't feel comfortable here. I'm 35 now. So, I think I would feel a bit out of place, and I certainly don't, so I think that's also a good way to probably comprehend it.”

RB are yet to finalise their driver line-up for 2025, with Yuki Tsunoda confirmed to stay while Ricciardo’s future remains uncertain.