In an extraordinary sequence of events, the VCARB pair consisting of Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda were on the verge of securing points. However, shortly after a restart following a Safety Car period, Stroll collided into the rear of Ricciardo’s car. To make matters worse, the Canadian driver proceeded to criticize the Australian, even though it was actually the fault of Aston Martin’s driver, Martin.
Marko, in his analysis on Red Bull’s SpeedWeek channel after the China race, expressed his disbelief at Stroll’s behavior: “I cannot comprehend how Lance Stroll had the audacity to label Daniel as an idiot after the race had concluded. This was clearly not Stroll’s weekend, as he unfortunately deprived Daniel of any opportunity.”
Interestingly, Ricciardo appeared to outperform Yuki Tsunoda, which was surprising considering the Japanese driver had consistently outperformed his more experienced teammate in previous Grand Prix races. However, this change in performance coincided with a chassis swap for Ricciardo, while Tsunoda’s form declined.
Marko provided an explanation for this phenomenon: “If we observe another ‘Shanghai rookie’ Oscar Piastri, we can see that the Australian was significantly slower than Lando Norris by half a second to a full second during the race. Therefore, it is evident that experience plays a crucial role at the Shanghai circuit, particularly since the newcomers had limited driving time in the sprint format.”
“VCARB may have erred by sending Tsunoda out on hard tires during the only free practice session when the track had extremely poor grip, resulting in Yuki struggling to maintain control. However, during the race, Tsunoda’s lap times were on par with Ricciardo’s.”
“He would have had a chance to secure points, but Kevin Magnussen shattered that hope,” Marko lamented, referring to the incident where the Haas driver collided with Tsunoda during the same restart period, leading to the elimination of both VCARB cars in quick succession.
Marko has confirmed that the entire plan was premeditated because it is their third car that they wanted to bring to the track. However, this change also had a psychological impact after Daniel’s disappointing performances in the previous races. Things improved significantly in China.
Usually composed and collected, Ricciardo was left furious by Stroll’s unapologetic reaction. He expressed his frustration by saying, “The biggest issue for me is if they say, ‘Oh, we’ll give him a penalty in the next race.’ But he still blames me, and that’s a bigger problem.”
“I want him to understand that once the situation calms down, if he’s still angry today, he needs to learn from this. We’ve all made mistakes. I’ve done it, we all have. As long as he realizes that he’s the one who not only ruined his own race but also mine, that’s the most important takeaway,” Ricciardo stated. He has yet to score any points this season, while Tsunoda has earned seven points for the team.
Ricciardo’s return to Formula 1 through VCARB is well-documented, as is his struggle to regain the form he was once renowned for before leaving Red Bull. While his rehabilitation with the organization that launched his career was positive in China, Ricciardo is still far from being the revered and respected Formula 1 driver he once was. Currently, he is a “Work in Progress” with little progress being made, despite his 244 Grand Prix starts.