Ricciardo Rues 13th After 'Smart' Rain Gamble

Ricciardo’s tactical bet on rain backfired, leaving him 13th as the anticipated downpour failed to appear.

Daniel Ricciardo secured the 13th fastest time in the qualifying session at the Belgian Grand Prix. The RB F1 driver expressed his frustration, believing he could have performed better, but explained that the team had attempted a strategic gamble with the weather, which unfortunately did not pay off.

“The session wasn’t bad. I’m not happy with 13th place; we were better than that. We made a last-minute decision, didn’t think it was foolish, but it didn’t work out,” the Australian remarked.

“We completed the first run of Q2, we were in the top 10, and then the rain came. We thought we’d set a lap then; we managed a slight improvement, but everyone was able to improve towards the end while we were back in the garage.”

“It’s frustrating, but I don’t disagree with what we thought at that moment. If the rain had come, we would have been in a good position. I’m pleased with the pace we had; every time we set a lap, we had a car for the top 10.”

Yuki Tsunoda qualified 18th but has no regrets about his penalty, and aims to climb during the race: “For me, this isn’t really a qualifying session. I like the rain, but with the penalty, it doesn’t really feel like a session. We’ll see how things go tomorrow; there are sometimes DRS trains, but we’ll try to make it work.”