Daniel Ricciardo struggled with tyre graining, finishing 13th despite several retirements ahead, while Yuki Tsunoda’s hopes were dashed after a first-lap collision with Lance Stroll in Baku.
Daniel Ricciardo finished 13th in Baku despite several retirements ahead of him. The Red Bull F1 driver candidly spoke of a lack of pace and tyre management issues, with graining costing him valuable time.
“It was a tough race. The start went well; the drivers on mediums in front seemed to be struggling, and we managed to catch up. I was on the hard tyre and tried to use it where I could by pushing hard and finding the rhythm,” Ricciardo recounted.
“After a few laps, we suffered significant graining, which worsened over 10 laps, causing us to lose a few seconds. The team observed that other cars were able to shed their graining, but it took us much longer.”
“Once we managed that, we were able to come back and find some pace, but we had lost a lot of ground. I’ve never experienced such graining; the variation in lap times was up to four seconds.”
“We need to understand why we experienced more prolonged graining. Looking ahead, I love the Marina Bay street circuit, so I hope we can have a better weekend there.”
Yuki Tsunoda was tangled up on the first lap by Lance Stroll. And while he doesn’t understand his rival’s manoeuvre, it spoiled his chance for a result: “A very short race, and the lost opportunity to score points, which would have been challenging, but you never know in these city races. Starting 12th is obviously not ideal and means there’s a lot of risk of damage.”
“We just need to step up a bit and qualify in the top 10, to get a better start. As for what happened on track, it felt like an unnecessary move on his part.”
“He attacked like that, with a nothing-to-lose approach. I don’t know what he had to gain, but I wasn’t going to make it easy for him. It’s unfortunate, not the way I wanted to end my race, but we will come back strong in Singapore.”
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Tsunoda’s Race Ruined by Stroll’s First-Lap Clash Tsunoda’s Race Ruined by Stroll’s First-Lap Clash
