Daniel Ricciardo, the Australian driver for RB, had a challenging weekend at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, where he faced 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 the team can improve their performance by addressing the car’s flaws. He acknowledges that the start of the season has not been ideal, but is determined to bounce back at the next race in Melbourne. Ricciardo explains that the team has identified efficiency and performance issues with the car, 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 necessary improvements, they can achieve better results in the future.
Ricciardo acknowledged that the challenges he faced were exacerbated when he was behind other cars, leading him to feel “helpless” during the race.
“There’s just a lack of stability this weekend, overall. So when you find yourself behind another car, it becomes even more evident,” he added. “And that exposes our weaknesses even more.
“So it was tough. Yeah. Just a challenge. One of those moments where you just hope it ends.
“Look, I’m relieved to be back on track and everything, so I don’t want to say, ‘Oh, I just wanted to see the checkered flag.’ I’m not in the same mindset I was a few years ago.
“But yeah, knowing that we don’t have exactly what we should underneath us – that’s when you feel a bit helpless.”
Ricciardo argues that his accumulated “frustration” contributed to the spin in the final moments that resulted in him hitting the inside curb at the first turn.
“The spin? Yeah, maybe. I mean, I got… I don’t know. I mean, I ended up catching a bit more curb, which caused the spin,” commented.
“So yeah, it wasn’t intentional. I didn’t mean to catch so much curb. So yeah, you could say it was just a bit of… probably a 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 working on it. I’ll use this as a lesson.”
