Lina WilliamsDaniel Ricciardo faced hurdles at the Saudi GP, including a slow pit stop and a spin, yet remains hopeful as his team learns and improves.
Daniel Ricciardo is dissatisfied with his Saudi Arabian GP weekend, underscored by a lack of performance, a 40-second pit stop, and a spin. However, the Australian remains optimistic about the future, as RB F1 continues to learn from its car.
“Honestly, we found a few elements over the weekend,” Ricciardo stated. “But we approach the race always optimistic and hoping for something to happen.”
“But I think it will still be a tough battle. We just don’t have everything it takes to operate at 100%. So, we see some flaws with the car. We have to correct them for the next race. But I stay optimistic because I know we’ve had issues.”
“And with a good car and everything sorted, I know we can do much better. So, these three days have been painful, but I don’t want it to strip us of all confidence. The start wasn’t what we wished for, but it’s the second race, and Melbourne is next.”
“So yes, everyone needs to strive to get things right, and we will have a good weekend. Already by Friday night, I stayed quite late trying to help everyone pinpoint the issues. It’s now up to me to continue helping them. I know they want it as much as I do.”
Ricciardo himself “lost time”
Ricciardo acknowledges his share of responsibility in the weekend’s poor results in Saudi, especially in qualifying. While Yuki Tsunoda made it to Q3, he stalled in Q2 and admits it was his fault.
“Honestly, there are things with the car. As far as operational efficiency and everything else, some things didn’t work out. I felt it in qualifying, like in Bahrain, that I was the one losing time. I left a few tenths behind.”
“When there’s a kind of plateau and the others continue to improve, that’s also a bit of a sign. So, I felt that was the limit of the car. So yes, we found solutions afterward. But there’s Parc Ferme.”
“And to be honest, even if we didn’t have Parc Ferme, it’s probably not something we can fix in 24 hours. So, I’m certain some things will be sent back to the factory and we’ll return with a new car in Melbourne.”
The VCARB 01 “lacks downforce”
However, Ricciardo is also aware that the car is not at the desired level, particularly in traffic. But despite his resignation during the race, he wholeheartedly wants to do better.
“We lacked downforce this weekend, generally. So, when you find yourself behind another car, it’s even more exaggerated. It further highlights a weakness. So, it was tricky, that’s true. It’s just a difficult weekend that we hope to see end quickly.”
“I’m happy to be back on the grid, so I don’t want to say ‘I just wanted to see the checkered flag’. I’m not in the same mindset as a few years ago. But yes, knowing that we don’t quite have what we should have, it’s there and it makes you feel a bit powerless.”
Asked about his mistake towards the end of the race, he thinks he approached the turn incorrectly but denies that it came from the frustration of being in the pack: “I didn’t intend to take so much of the kerb. It might be due to a bit of frustration on my part. But I’m not looking for excuses.”
Ricciardo Saudi GP 2024. Ricciardo Saudi GP 2024
- ReadMore>Krack: “We Want to Keep Alonso”
- Following us on Facebook and Twitter.
