Daniel Ricciardo, the Australian driver of RB Formula 1, expressed his disappointment after not advancing to Q3 in the qualifying round of the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Ricciardo will start the race in 14th on the grid, while his teammate Yuki Tsunoda secured ninth position, marking the team’s first top-ten finish. Ricciardo acknowledged Tsunoda’s strong performance, but emphasized that the difference between them was not significant. He plans to analyze the qualifying session to understand the reasons behind his difficulties.
Ricciardo faced a significant disadvantage at the end of the first sector of the track. He pushed hard at Turn 8, but this compromised his speed in the following corners. Despite setting his best time in the second sector, Ricciardo was frustrated at not being able to secure a spot in the top-ten battle with his VCARB-01. Last week, he was frustrated with himself because he knew he could have done better. However, this time, the situation is more mysterious. Although he struggled in some corners, he felt like he couldn’t extract more performance from the car. It wasn’t about understeer or oversteer, but rather a lack of grip compared to the other drivers. He knows where he lost time, but is unsure of how to improve in that session.
Ricciardo hopes that his performances in 2024 will secure him a spot in the Red Bull main team. He couldn’t find an explanation for his elimination in Q2 and hopes that post-qualifying inspections will reveal some damage to his car. He believes they didn’t do anything drastically different compared to Q1. Normally, lap times naturally improve as the track evolves, but this time it didn’t happen. He speculates that maybe hitting the curbs caused some damage to the car. He remains optimistic that they can figure something out, but it’s too early to think positively about the next race.
