Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo clashed over the RB Formula 1 team’s decision to swap drivers during the final stages of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Tsunoda, who was trying to overtake Kevin Magnussen’s Haas to stay in 12th place, was instructed by RB to let Ricciardo pass to challenge Magnussen. Tsunoda obeyed the order but expressed his frustration over the team radio. Despite the driver swap, Ricciardo failed to overtake Magnussen and ended up as RB’s lead driver. Tsunoda questioned the team’s decision and requested further discussions to understand the reasoning behind it.
However, Ricciardo argues that Tsunoda would have been surprised by the decision, as it was discussed in the RB drivers’ meeting 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 was expecting the team’s call and believes it was not a surprise. He emphasizes the importance of each lap on those tires and the need to react to the team’s instructions. Since they were not yet in a scoring position, Ricciardo saw no issue in trying something different and seeing if it could make an impact.
Ricciardo also mentions that if the team had asked, he would have been willing to give back the position to Tsunoda. However, since they were still not in a scoring position and he personally didn’t mind finishing 13th or 14th, he didn’t see the need to give up his position. He believes that only in a scoring position would it make sense to swap places again if he couldn’t achieve a higher position. But in that specific situation, it didn’t matter.
Ricciardo admits that he would have some questions for the team after the race, as he believes the order came one lap too late, which affected his race. However, he acknowledges that reaching Lance Stroll, who was on a one-stop strategy in the Aston Martin, was not possible. He believes he might have been able to catch Zhou Guanyu at most, but points were still hard to reach. Despite the challenges, Ricciardo believes they had to try something different.
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