'Painful Weekend': Ricciardo Frustrated By Saudi Arabia Disappointment

Wednesday, 13 March 2024 at 01:30

Daniel Ricciardo likely isn't enjoying his team on the race track at the moment, but he's still able to find positives despite recent disappointments.

Coming into the 2024 F1 season, RB was named as one of the dark horses on the grid, as the team should have made significant improvements, which could have possibly put them in a fight for podiums.

Ahead of the season, however, Ricciardo calmed these expectations, and it turns out it was a good decision as he and his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, were far not only from the podium but also from recording points in the first two races of the season.

On top of that, in the first race of the season, the two RB drivers clashed, after the Japanese driver was told to let Ricciardo through, as the Australian was faster at the time, being on the softer compound of tires.

At the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the two didn't get anywhere close to each other, as Ricciardo's first pit-stop went terribly, spending dozens of seconds stationary, which ultimately left him without any chance to fight for a reasonable result.

Read also

Decision About Sainz's Participation In Australian Grand Prix Yet To Be Made

Speaking after the race, the Honey Badger was able to look at the positives, but still, it was a frustrating weekend for him, as finding things to improve meant that there had to be things which were really bad.

"Tough weekend. The only thing that's probably keeping me a little bit optimistic now is, we did find a few things, so that's positive."

"I've driven a long time, I know that when things don't feel quite right. On one hand, it's nice to find a few things, but on another, it meant that it was a pretty painful weekend, that's obviously frustrating."

On top of that, with a few laps to go at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Ricciardo spun in Turn 1, losing another position to Logan Sargeant, which, in his own words, summarized the weekend that he was having.

"And the race, it was tough. I think coming in we knew it'd be tough. Then we had a slow pit stop and then I feel I was from the end. I ate a bit too much curb in Turn 1 and had a spin, but I kind of summed up the weekend."