Daniel Ricciardo, the Australian driver for Red Bull Racing (RB), showcased his impressive skills during qualifying at the Austrian Grand Prix. He commended the progress made by RB throughout the weekend, particularly with their unique Formula 1 car. RB utilized the race at the Red Bull Ring to gain a deeper understanding of the issues that arose from their extensive update package in Spain, which resulted in a sudden decline in performance.
Before the on-track action commenced, Ricciardo disclosed that he and his teammate Yuki Tsunoda would be using a combination of new and old components in their cars. Despite being eliminated in the first segment of Sprint Qualifying earlier in the weekend, Ricciardo made a strong comeback, narrowly missing out on a spot in the top-10 shootout by a mere 0.010 seconds. When asked about his feelings regarding this close call, Ricciardo expressed a sense of frustration but acknowledged the overall positive performance.
Reflecting on his qualifying lap, Ricciardo stated that he was satisfied with his performance and continuously managed to improve his time by small increments. He believed that they had reached a point where there wasn’t much more to gain, except for a few milliseconds. Ricciardo attributed RB’s improved performance to the extended running time provided by the Sprint format, which allowed them to optimize the new parts on their VCARB 01 car.
While Ricciardo acknowledged the progress made by RB, he remained cautious about making predictions regarding their chances of scoring points. He confirmed that the team was still experimenting with different car specifications, aiming to find the optimal setup. Ricciardo expressed hope for a competitive showing in the upcoming race but acknowledged the uncertainties associated with factors such as fuel load and track conditions. He anticipated that a two-stop strategy might be necessary due to the hot track conditions, with the choice between Medium and Hard tires playing a crucial role in determining the outcome.