After qualifying a disappointing P13 for the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix, Daniel Ricciardo admits that he struggled to get the tyres in the right operating window.
At the end of Q2, the Australian driver was two and a half tenths away from making it to Q3 as he was comfortably outpaced by Yuki Tsunoda in qualifying once again.
The cut-off time was a 1:11.216 pulled together by Alexander Albon of Williams Racing, while Daniel Ricciardo could only manage a 1:11.482.
It was an improved effort on the RB driver’s fastest time in Q1, but he fell short of gathering the extra three tenths required to book a spot in Q3.
Speaking of his qualifying session, Ricciardo said that getting the tyres in the right temperature window was his “personal struggle today — just getting everything out of them [tyres] on Lap 1 [of Q2]. That’s when you know that the grip is there, especially from the rear.”
Ricciardo emphasized the importance of qualifying around the Monte Carlo circuit, explaining that he lost time in the middle sector that is over 30 seconds long as he struggled with the front end of his car.
“It is so important around here, so you really gotta try and make that lap work, but I just struggled honestly just getting the front going.
“Through that tight middle sector, I felt like that’s where I was bleeding lap time.”
The Australian driver did not shy away from taking the blame, as he admitted that rest of the field were able to get their tyres in the correct window.
“Obviously, the others were able to, so that’s where the struggle lied. That’s why, you know, we maybe gained three tenths, but not the six or seven tenths we needed.”
The RB driver admitted that his qualifying position is a tough pill to swallow, emphasising again how important the starting position is around the the streets of Monaco with overtaking not possible.
“It hurts around here, because the qualifying is so important. It’s, I don’t know, tough to take qualifying this far back.”
Ricciardo added that he rather enjoys driving here as he talked about passionately on Thursday, but the result has taken the exhilaration away.
“I enjoy driving here — [but] the classification kinda takes that enjoyment out of it — so it’s all relative.”
Talking about Sunday’s main race and the possibility of an undercut, Ricciardo confessed that he should perhaps be somewhat optimistic, but he did not feel that way straight after the session.
“I mean, you gotta obviously try and stay optimistic but not sure how optimistic I am feeling right now.”
The RB driver added that they were looking a bit more promising yesterday, but come qualifying they were on the back foot, and the Faenza-based team will work to get on top of it all as he starts 13th, set to become P12 when Nico Hülkenberg is disqualified from qualifying.
“We certainly seem to be a bit on the back foot today. So try and get on top of it.”
