Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo have clashed over the RB Formula 1 team’s decision to switch drivers during the final stages of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Tsunoda, who was trying to pass Kevin Magnussen’s Haas for 12th place, was told by RB to let Ricciardo through to challenge Magnussen. Tsunoda complied with the order but expressed his frustration over the team radio. Despite the driver swap, Ricciardo was unable to overtake Magnussen and finished as the lead RB driver. Tsunoda questioned the team’s decision and called for further discussions to understand their reasoning.
However, Ricciardo disputes that Tsunoda would have been surprised by the decision, as it was discussed in RB’s driver briefing before the race. Ricciardo explains that they go through different strategies before the race and it was highly likely that he would start on used Soft tires and finish on new Soft tires for an aggressive final stint. He expected the team’s call and believes it was no surprise. He emphasizes the importance of every lap when using these tires and the need to react to the team’s instructions. Since they were not in a points position yet, Ricciardo saw no harm in trying something different and seeing if he could make an impact.
Ricciardo also mentions that if the team had asked him, he would have been willing to give the position back to Tsunoda. However, since they were not in a points position and he personally did not care about finishing 13th or 14th, he didn’t see the need to give up his position. He believes that only in a points position would it make sense to swap places again if he couldn’t achieve a higher position. But in this particular situation, it didn’t matter.
Ricciardo admits that he would have some questions for the team after the race because he believes the order came one lap too late, which affected his race. However, he acknowledges that catching Lance Stroll, who was on a one-stop strategy in the Aston Martin, was not possible. He believes that he may have been able to catch Zhou Guanyu at best, but points were still difficult to achieve. Despite the challenges, Ricciardo believes they had to try something different.