'I'm Trying, But It's Just Not Quite Converting': Ricciardo Exasperated After Qualifying

Saturday, 23 March 2024 at 11:45

RB driver Daniel Ricciardo, who didn't make it out of Q1 during the qualifying ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, shared his thoughts right after the session.

The pressure on the Honey Badger to perform after the underwhelming first two weekends of the season was growing ahead of the qualifying in Melbourne.

Ricciardo's home race is the Australian Grand Prix, and he wants to perform in front of his home crowd more than anywhere else.

However, the 34-year-old didn't make it even out of Q1 in the Qualifying after his own mistake when he went outside the track limits on his final flying lap. He told the media at Albert Park Circuit:

"I was certainly all over trying to keep it on track, but obviously trying to find the time that we've been struggling to find all weekend."

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"I felt like the lap was all I had, so that was salt in the wounds. But I was also like: 'That's a LAP.' ...and still slower."

When the Australian driver finished his lap, it provisionally put him in P10, which suggests it was a great lap. He was even faster than both of the Mercedes drivers.

However, that same lap was still 0.11 seconds slower than one of his teammates, Yuki Tsunoda, and Ricciardo's time didn't even count because of the track limits violation. He continued:

"There are still some things that I'm not so confident about, but we have to keep trying to figure out why. I mean, I felt like I got everything out of it, so that was that. But normally, those laps are a bit further up the grid."

When asked where his confidence is lacking at the moment, Ricciardo added that he has confidence in the car but seemed confused as to why he still lacks pace.

"It's just in the stopwatch. I feel like I've got confidence in the car; I'm putting everything into it. I know what I'm capable of, and those lap times when I cross the line are normally better in terms of competitiveness."

"I'm trying, but it's just not quite converting the way I believe it should be on the stopwatch."