In the closing stages of the Bahrain race last Saturday, Tsunoda and Ricciardo found themselves outside of the points in 13th and 14th place respectively. Tsunoda was on Hard tires while Ricciardo was on Softs. Tsunoda attempted to overtake Kevin Magnussen’s Haas for 12th place but was unsuccessful. Red Bull (RB) then made the decision to swap cars, giving Ricciardo a chance to pass Magnussen with his Soft tires. Tsunoda expressed his dissatisfaction with the team’s orders and refused to give up his position to his teammate. However, on the cool-down lap, Tsunoda seemed to aggressively approach Ricciardo in Turn 8, causing Ricciardo to make a quick maneuver to avoid a collision with the sister VCARB 01 car. Ricciardo was clearly unimpressed and vented his frustration over the team radio. In an interview after the race, Ricciardo acknowledged the incident and suggested that Tsunoda’s actions were due to his frustration with the team’s decision. Ricciardo also emphasized the importance of maximizing their chances for points, especially considering their position in the race. Despite the incident, Ricciardo admitted that they were not strong enough to secure points in the race. He remained optimistic, recognizing that it is a long season and they will regroup and focus on the upcoming race in Jeddah. A video clip of the incident was shared on social media.
Tsunoda shared his perspective with the media, stating: “I was on the verge of passing Magnussen. We need to analyze their reasoning, honestly, I don’t comprehend it.
“To be frank, I don’t know,” Tsunoda responded when questioned if he was dissatisfied with the team’s orders. “I was outside of the points.
“I was in the process of overtaking Magnussen, we were side by side on the main straight, and there was a driver swap for the last few laps. So yeah, honestly, I didn’t grasp what the team was thinking. I need to understand their…thought process, but as of now, I still don’t comprehend,” he elaborated.
When informed that Ricciardo was less than a second behind him, Tsunoda added: “I was also second [behind the car in front] and I was just overtaking Magnussen. And he also didn’t overtake Magnussen.
“So yeah… We need to evaluate their reasoning, to be honest, I don’t really understand,” the Japanese driver concluded.
Red Bull CEO Peter Bayer reflected on the team order matter in Bahrain, stating to Motorsport.com: “Regarding the team order situation, yes, we discussed it.
“We informed Yuki and said, ‘Look, you need to overtake Magnussen, and if not, we’ll have to swap positions.’ He had two laps and didn’t make it. So we decided to swap. We had a discussion with him,” Bayer concluded.
(Additional reporting by Agnes Carlier)