Daniel Ricciardo says he can see Yuki Tsunoda doing things which he can’t and he is talking with the team, as he is trying to keep of distractions.
There maybe some feelings in the mind of Ricciardo of looking back at his McLaren days after having had the start to his 2024 F1 season with Visa Cash App RB. The three races has been difficult when teammate Yuki Tsunoda has looked good.
In fact, the Japanese scored good points in Australia – the home event of Ricciardo. The Australian was hoping for a re-start last weekend but lap deletion saw him getting knocked out in Q1 itself, while Tsunoda made it in Q3 after a solid run.
In the grand prix as well, Tsunoda was firmly in place to get into the Top 10. While Ricciardo seemingly had better pace, he was still left to fight it hard. The Australian pitted early after starting on the soft tyres to cut the pack but the strategy didn’t work per se.
“I don’t know, I think I feel like everyone pitted really early as well,” said Ricciardo when asked about the strategy. “So yeah, obviously the idea was to try and come out and get a little bit of a clear track, but I think everyone was, yeah, pretty on it. And maybe they were struggling as well with, I guess they started on the mediums.
“So maybe that wasn’t too nice for them. So, yeah. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t really know also how far we could have gone through the pack. So, it probably worked a little bit. Could have maybe worked more, I don’t know. But I think obviously, when you’re at the back, you got to try something and certainly wasn’t silly.
“I think, when I saw Hulkenberg start on the hard in front of me, I thought that was a bit more of a gamble. But I guess that that paid off for him. And I was actually quite surprised his pace on that one was pretty good. I thought his start would have been… thought he would have struggled a lot. But yeah, looked like they had that hooked up,” summed up Ricciardo.
With Tsunoda doing well, Ricciardo notes that he can see in the data where the Australian is lacking which is why he is asking questions to understand where the problem is. Despite being more or less similar in pace, he admits of missing something but not confidence.
The McLaren era was a lot about confidence dip but so far he isn’t feeling lack of that. “The first stint on the hard, there was like a VSC and straight after that, we open up the graining,” said Ricciardo. “So I think that stint we were losing time, and then the second stint, once I cleared, I think it was Ocon, maybe, in an Alpine – I was able to get into the low 1m21s. And I think at the time that was really competitive.
“And then we kind of got blue flags and whatever after that, but I think there was certainly some moments where it does look more encouraging. Even then I still have some comments. I think for the team, even when we are going fast, I think there’s still some things that I feel like I’m missing, but yeah, certainly a little bit more encouraging and just we’ll keep chipping away, I think.
“Yeah, what I obviously want to reiterate to the team, as well as that it’s not a sort of confidence thing. It’s not like, ‘what the hell is this car gonna do when I brake or when I turn?’ It’s not that. It’s simply just, yeah, I feel like a lot of the time I’m not able to carry the speed, maybe that I see Yuki is able to.
“So yeah, see what I can do better. And I’m asking plenty of questions to the team as well. So it’s a two part process. I’m asking the team a lot of questions. And I think we will have some bits and pieces kind of come on to the car in the next kind of one, two races. So yeah, I expect it to be a pretty quick turnaround.
“And before you know it, we’ll be doing great again. And I know I kind of said that jokingly, but I do! I do believe it. So yeah, we’ll hopefully turn it around,” summed up Ricciardo, who is trying not take the outside distractions affect him as much knowing that it can bog one driver down so much that it can pull down the confidence too.
“I came into Australia, really, honestly, deep down believing like we were going to have a very, very good weekend,” said Ricciardo. “In terms of the noise, people tell me like in the media, they’re like, ‘Oh, so and so said’ – it’s the first I’ve heard. So yeah, it’s obviously no disrespect to you guys.
“But I know that I’m on this little kind of process or journey at the moment. And I just need to focus on myself. And I think if I let any of the noise in, it’s going to kind of distract me from the path I’m on. So I think it’s been really good to, well, I haven’t let any of that maybe those negative stuff creep in.
“I also understand that. Yeah, like I didn’t expect to start the season like this. Budapest last year, I drove the car a day before and then, I outqualify Yuki and have a really strong race and with no knowledge, and then having a full pre-season and all that, and all the races last year, I honestly thought that this year we would start a lot stronger.
“So there is that which I understand, not only me, but a few people are wondering why. But yeah, it’s just I think the important thing is that I stay, kind of, stay on course. It’s not that my head is filled with nonsense or anything. I honestly feel good. And just unfortunately, the results haven’t made me feel awesome.
“But deep down behind the wheel, I do feel good and excited and just want to… just want to keep racing. And I’m sure I’ll find a bit more in myself and I still believe maybe we’ll find a little something on the car,” summed up Ricciardo.
Here’s Yuki Tsunoda on car difference from 2023
Here’s news on Ayumu Iwasa getting FP1 nod in Japan
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