Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo have resolved their differences after last week’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
Yuki Tsunoda got rather angry when RB F1 ordered him to swap position with his teammate who had softer tyres with 5 laps remaining. The Japanese driver had been stuck behind Kevin Magnussen himself. Ricciardo got the place eventually but failed to make a move.
As the Japanese driver crossed the finish line in 14th place, behind Ricciardo, Tsunoda was heard complaining about the request over the team radio. During the cooldown lap, Tsunoda almost ran into his teammate at turn 8 and on the exit. Ricciardo was heard calling him a “helmet” because of it.
After a very heated race and a disappointing result, both drivers stated that they discussed the issue with the team after the race and any and the misunderstanding has been resolved.
“Drivers never like team orders. So maybe a driver doesn’t react straight away.
“Like, it’s not the first time that’s ever happened. So I think that was all pretty clear.
“It was important for us to talk about that, but then also the in-lap, just to be clear that, even if it’s heat of the moment, these things can have bigger consequences,” Ricciardo said during a media session held ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
“So we talked, personally, privately, doors closed, very openly, transparently. We left Saturday night feeling like it’s done.”
Yuki Tsunoda also cleared the air during the press conference stating that his relationship with the Australian driver is “still unified” and they are on the same page.
“We talked about it after the race with the team. We’re still unified and we’re on the same page now. We understand each other.”
When asked if he felt frustrated by the team orders, he said:
“At that moment, yes. But I understand what they’re saying. Obviously, it was not an easy race in the end.”
Red Bull’s advisor Dr. Helmut Marko also spoke up about the tension within the team and stated that he was also involved with the team to clear the air and stated that the team order was unnecessary. RB is currently looking to capitalise on their potential and score as many points as they can this season.
