Daniel Ricciardo appeared confused and disappointed after qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix. His lap time was slower than his teammate Yuki Tsunoda’s, which was more painful for him than the fact that his lap was deleted for going off track. Ricciardo admitted that even with the track improving, he would not have been able to match Tsunoda’s performance. This raised concerns about Ricciardo’s ability to perform at his best and the pressure is increasing for him to improve.
Ricciardo explained that he felt he gave his best during his lap, but it still wasn’t enough compared to Tsunoda. He was puzzled by this and couldn’t understand why his lap wasn’t as fast as he expected. He also mentioned that Tsunoda’s performance in Q2 was even more impressive, making it clear that he couldn’t have done much better. Ricciardo expressed his concern about his performance so far this season and the need to find solutions.
Ricciardo mentioned that there may be some issues with the car that could explain his performance deficit. He wants more checks to be done because he is not entirely convinced that the car is functioning correctly. However, this raises concerns as it reminds us of a similar situation he faced in Monaco in 2021, where he blamed the car for his lack of pace, only to later discover that it was his driving that needed improvement.
Although Ricciardo feels confident in the car as a whole, he admits that there are some corner speeds where he cannot gain enough speed. He believes the car is generally good to drive, but the lap times do not reflect that. He made progress last year in improving the car’s characteristics to suit his style, but now he doubts if there is something wrong with the car itself.
Ricciardo does not believe there are any known differences between his car and Tsunoda’s car that could explain the performance gap. However, he will continue asking questions and ensuring he has a car that he believes is capable of performing at its best. The team will also closely examine the car to see if there is any issue that needs to be resolved. Ricciardo hopes there is something wrong with the car that can be fixed, but there is still uncertainty about whether the problem lies with him or the car itself.
