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Daniel Ricciardo claimed some of the criticism on his form was justified but most have been blown out of proportion. Speaking to onsite media after the qualifying in Austria, the Australian felt that his gap with Yuki Tsunoda has not been significant.
The RB duo have had an average gap of roughly two-tenths of a second between them for the majority of the season. Daniel Ricciardo has beaten the Japanese driver in four out of eleven Grand Prix qualifying sessions so far and one sprint. He has had an underwhelming start to his 2024 campaign, but the scrutiny on his form started as early as the second race of the year.
Daniel Ricciardo claimed that despite the criticism, he is well aware of the season he has had so far. His highest qualifying position has been fifth in 2024 and fourth since he returned with the Faenza team. However, the 34-year-old feels that it has been a rare instance where he has been out-qualified by half a second.
Coming into the Austrian GP weekend, there was speculation about Ricciardo getting replaced by Liam Lawson by mid-season or next year. For the third weekend in a row, he managed to out-qualify his teammate to secure P11 on the grid.
Asked whether some of the criticism has been overblown, Daniel Ricciardo replied:
“I mean look, I know my year, sure I have had a few little highs. But as a whole, it hasn’t been what was probably expected and what I want from myself. So I know when you are not kicking arse, you receive a little bit of I guess criticism. But sometimes, it is probably a little blown apart. You know I don’t think the gap has ever been, or rarely has it been half a second to Yuki. Last week yes he got me at less than a tenth.”
“So I think also he’s been getting a lot of praise, so I’m not getting my a*se kicked by someone who’s not very fast. I think everyone acknowledges that he has got very good one lap pace. But yeah the teammate battle is the one that is obviously closely watched. Today I am obviously happy to put some laps together and maybe keep everyone a little more quiet.”
Daniel Ricciardo found the close margins frustrating in the Austrian GP qualifying
Daniel Ricciardo was out-qualified by Yuki Tsunoda by a narrow margin of 0.024 seconds in the sprint shootout and he was knocked out of Q2 in the main qualifying by a narrow margin of 0.015 seconds. Despite out-qualifying his teammate by two-tenths of a second in the final qualifying at the Austrian GP, the Aussie was frustrated with the milliseconds that denied him a spot in the top 10.
Ricciardo admitted having a good qualifying session where he was able to build with every lap. In terms of the car's progress, he reckoned they had taken a step forward from the troubles RB had with their car in Spain and on Friday.
Asked if the fine margins in the sprint shootout and qualifying were frustrating, Daniel Ricciardo said:
“It is. I think it was sometimes you can be upset when you lock up and a tenth or something in a corner. The lap was pretty good, like I was happy with the lap. Every lap I was able to find half a tenth, half a tenth, and a tenth. So I felt like we were getting to a point where there wasn’t much left in it. Obviously ten milliseconds, yeah that is always there. But let’s say no bad feelings, just that bit of frustration to be so close, but happy with the progress since yesterday.”
Asked if their car was in a better place in Austria compared to Spain, Daniel Ricciardo said:
“Yeah we certainly seemed better. I think yesterday was a lot, we were still trying a lot and then you have only one set in Q1. So it was always going to be tricky. But today having a little bit more understanding, having the race this morning and then we had five runs in qualifying today, we used five (sets) softs, we were able to get the car in a better window. Still not quite a Q3 car but we’re there.”
Daniel Ricciardo has scored nine points so far and needs ten more to equal his teammate. Despite the flack received on his form, he has managed to maintain consistency since the Canadian GP.
By his admission, Ricciardo has until July to put in an exceptional performance and turn the course of his season for the better. The former Red Bull Racing driver is looking forward to maximizing the next four weekends before possibly getting written off or replaced at RB.
