Daniel Ricciardo, the Australian driver for RB, had a challenging weekend at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, where he encountered several issues with his 2024 Formula 1 car. Ricciardo was outperformed by his teammate Yuki Tsunoda in qualifying and struggled during the race due to a slow pit stop and a spin at Turn 1. Despite these setbacks, Ricciardo remains optimistic and believes that the team can improve their performance by addressing the flaws in the car. He acknowledges that the start of the season has not been ideal but is determined to bounce back in the next race in Melbourne. Ricciardo explains that the team has identified issues with the car’s efficiency and performance, which they will work on before the next race. He recognizes that the car’s limitations were exposed during the weekend and hopes that with the necessary improvements, they can achieve better results in the future.
Ricciardo acknowledged that the challenges he faced were worsened when he was trailing behind other cars, leading him to feel “powerless” during the race.
“We simply lack stability this weekend, in general. So when you find yourself behind another car, it’s even more pronounced,” he added. “And it further exposes our weaknesses.
“So it was difficult. Yeah. Just a challenging one. One of those moments where you hope it’s over.
“Look, I’m relieved to be back on the grid and all that, so I don’t want to say, ‘Oh, I just wanted to see the checkered flag’. I’m not in the same mindset as I was a couple of years ago.
“But yeah, knowing that we don’t quite have what we should underneath us – that’s when you feel a bit powerless.”
Ricciardo argues that his pent-up “frustration” contributed to the spin in the final moments that resulted in him hitting the inside curb at the first corner.
“The spin? Yeah, maybe. I mean, I stayed… I don’t know. I mean, I did just take a bit too much curb, which caused the spin,” he commented.
“So yeah, it wasn’t intentional. I didn’t mean to take that much curb. So yeah, you could say it was just a little bit of… probably a little bit of frustration, maybe on my part.
“But of course I’m not trying to spin. So yeah, I don’t know. No excuses. But doing some work. I’ll use that as a reason.”