Daniel Ricciardo confessed to feeling “puzzled” by his inability to match the pace of his RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda after delivering what he described as his “best quali lap” of 2024.
Ricciardo experienced upset on home soil, where he suffered a Q1 exit after his lap time was deleted for exceeding track limits.
“I knew at the time, Turn 4, I was fighting it and I remember taking more kerb, so I knew I was wider than usual,” he told the media afterwards. “But it’s funny, you do it, and already after Turn 5, I’ve forgotten about it.
“So I did the lap, and then eventually, when Pierre [Hamelin, race engineer] told me [the lap was deleted], honestly, I’d forgot all about it. I think it took a while for it to sink in.
“Like, I’m obviously very aware of track limits, and, you know, I know if you go past it, you’re going to get your time deleted. So it’s not like I’m arguing with the facts.
“But, yeah, I think deep down, part of me is frustrated that I have to probably push the car that hard to put me in a position where I’m risking obviously too much.”
On the other side of the garage, Tsunoda produced a strong performance, progressing all the way to Q3 to secure a P8 starting for tomorrow’s event, ahead of the Aston Martin pair.
Ricciardo’s confusion was compounded by the feeling that he had produced his “best quali lap” of the season so far.
“The lap itself, I was happy with from my side. I felt like I got everything out of it and then when I saw it still wasn’t good enough, let’s say compared to Yuki, that for me is…
“Yeah, I’m still a bit puzzled, because I know what those laps normally mean. And I crossed the line being like ‘yeah, that was a good one’. And those ones are normally enough, more than enough, if you know what I mean, and it’s still not.”
Somewhat worryingly, Ricciardo admitted that he wouldn’t have been able to match the step Tsunoda took in Q2, even accounting for track evolution.
“So… and then looking at the time he’s doing in Q2, I can tell you now, I can’t get seven more tenths out of it than what I got in Q1.
“I’m sure there’s a bit of track evo[lution], but honestly, I think there’s still some things we’ve got to look at. Because it’s been definitely a struggle so far.
“Okay, obviously, the time got deleted, but the lap itself was definitely the best quali lap that I’ve done this year, and as I said, those ones are normally quite good,” Ricciardo continued.
“Going into Q2, I don’t know where there was much more time. You obviously take a couple of tenths from track evo, but as I said, six, seven tenths—that’s not in it.”
Ricciardo’s statements might evoke a sense of déjà vu—but he remains adamant that his current situation differs from his time at McLaren, pointing out that he has the confidence to push the car to its limits, something he previously lacked.
“I think [with] balance and everything—like, to be clear with the car, I feel confident in terms of braking and balance and all that. So it’s not like, say, McLaren, where I was a bit unsure and all, ‘I can’t really push the car here.’
“But yeah, you just, some corner speeds I see, I’m simply just not able to carry that speed,” he conceded.
“I feel like I’m at the edge with the car, in terms of like, pretty much four wheels sliding, so it’s balanced, and I feel now I’m at the limit of where its potential is.”
Ricciardo revealed that he’s on a quest to identify any potential car-related issues that could elucidate the performance deficit.
“After Saudi, we saw some things across cars; the team changed quite a lot and gave me quite a few new parts for this weekend to address some of those issues and concerns.
“It looked like it was better, but I’m still not fully convinced. As I said, we still feel like we’re struggling more than we normally are in a car that, again, I’m pretty happy with.
“It’s not like, I’m like, ‘yeah, it’s really struggling here or here’. It’s actually been a pretty nice car to drive, just the lap time is proving a lot worse.”
Reflecting on his quali disappointment and what might be possible on race day starting from the back of the grid, Ricciardo said: “I don’t know. I don’t even know if I’ve figured it out. I don’t think it’s sunk in where I start. So that’s, yeah, it’s certainly painful. The only thing I can be optimistic about is, you know, the home crowd is great.
“Just, I think it’s probably a two-stop race. I think we’re tyre-aware on that, so it opens up a bit more opportunity. Maybe if I can be a bit nicer on the tyres, it could provide something, and hopefully some guys struggle with graining and a few things like that, and maybe we can charge through the field.
“But, yeah, I’m still a bit—still kind of occupied on where the lap time is currently in this car.”
