Daniel Ricciardo admits that the Saudi Arabian GP exposed ‘a few flaws’ with the 2024 Visa Cash App RB car which left him facing an ‘uphill battle’ to finish in just 16th place.
The 34-year-old endured a torrid time at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit last weekend whilst his poor start to the season continued. Yuki Tsunoda comfortably out-qualified Ricciardo to give RB a top-10 start. He also finished in 14th place before slipping to 15th after a time penalty.
Tsunoda received a five-second penalty for an unsafe release that dropped the 23-year-old behind Logan Sargeant of Williams. He also endured an irritating race stuck behind the Haas of Kevin Magnussen, who received a 10-second penalty for passing the RB star off the track.
Daniel Ricciardo found the Saudi Arabian GP an ‘uphill battle’
Ricciardo, meanwhile, could only manage P16 at the Saudi Arabian GP after struggling to get through the train Magnussen headed after a 41-second pit stop. He also spun at Turn 1 after taking too much of the kerb in the closing laps to see only the Sauber pair finish behind him.
His frustrating race in Jeddah also followed the Australian ending the Bahrain GP in 13th. He also only moved ahead of Tsunoda in Sakhir after Visa Cash App RB gave team orders. While Tsunoda in P9 out-qualified P14 Ricciardo at the Saudi Arabian GP by 0.461 seconds in Q2.
The Jeddah race exposed the ‘flaws’ of Visa Cash App RB’s car
Ricciardo now hopes RB solve the problems the Saudi Arabian GP weekend exposed with his home Australian GP up next. The Perth native admits the Jeddah event proved to the Faenza outfit that the VCARB 01 has ‘a few flaws’. So, he always felt Saturday’s race would be tough.
“Honestly, we found a few things over the course of the weekend,” Ricciardo said, via quotes by Motorsport Week. “But we were heading into the race always upbeat and optimistic that maybe something happens. But I think it was always going to be an uphill battle.
“We simply don’t have everything functioning at 100%. So, we see a few flaws, honestly, with the car. So, we [have] got to get that fixed for the next one.”
Ricciardo finished sixth the last time he drove in an Australian GP for McLaren in 2022, while then-teammate Lando Norris took fifth. Visa Cash App RB – then named AlphaTauri – ended the 2023 Australian GP in P10 with Tsunoda and P15 with Nyck de Vries after a late collision.
The post ‘A few flaws’: 34-y/o F1 driver admits ‘uphill battle’ Saudi GP exposed issues with 2024 car appeared first on F1 Oversteer.
