Visa Cash App RB team principal Laurent Mekies has revealed the ‘truth’ behind why Daniel Ricciardo has struggled in the first three rounds of the 2024 Formula 1 season.
The Faenza natives have so far seen Yuki Tsunoda emerge as their lead driver over Ricciardo during the early races. Only RB giving team orders saw the 23-year-old finish a place behind the 34-year-old at the Bahrain GP. The drivers took the chequered flag to claim P13 and P14.
Tsunoda then led Ricciardo at the Saudi Arabian GP in P15 and P16 before scoring Visa Cash App RB’s first points of the year at the Australian GP. The Japanese gem sealed P7 last week in Melbourne, while Perth native Ricciardo would finish his home event down in 12th place.
Yuki Tsunoda is leading Daniel Ricciardo at Visa Cash App RB
RB also saw Tsunoda reach Q3 in Melbourne to open the Australian GP from P8 on the grid. Ricciardo could only manage P18 in qualifying after losing his fastest Q1 lap after exceeding track limits. The Australian also admitted he was ‘puzzled’ by his big pace deficit to Tsunoda.
Ricciardo’s deleted time of 1:17.466 during Q1 provisionally put him in 12th place for a spot in Q2. Yet Tsunoda posted a 1:17.356 in the first stage of qualifying, before improving to post a 1:16.791 in Q2 and a 1:16.788 in Q3. Ricciardo’s best legal lap time in Q1 was only a 1:18.085.
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Failing to get out of Q1 at the Australian GP extended Ricciardo’s wait for a Q3 appearance in 2024, while Tsunoda recorded his second. The Honda-backed driver also made Q3 at the Saudi Arabian GP for a P9 start. Ricciardo would only claim P14 during qualifying in Jeddah.
Laurent Mekies shares the ‘truth’ behind Daniel Ricciardo’s woes
Now, Visa Cash App RB team principal Mekies admits Ricciardo’s problems at the Australian GP were car-related. While Tsunoda felt comfortable with the set-up of his VCARB 01 in FP1, the Faenza outfit were still working on improving Ricciardo’s set-up right up until qualifying.
“The truth is that we need to give him a car that he’s more comfortable with,” Mekies told Motorsport.com. “Yuki had a car that he was very comfortable with from FP1. We probably reached that stage only in qualifying with Daniel, and from there you need to build.
“We feel that he has certainly done that in the race. He was as fast as the guys getting the points. So, we will have been fighting for the points with a more decent starting position.
“It’s another positive to take home, the fact that Daniel has produced a very strong race as well – even if he was starting from the back.”
Ricciardo gained places in the Australian GP following the retirements of Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. Sauber star Valtteri Bottas also endured another slow pit stop in Melbourne. But Ricciardo still finished a long way from Tsunoda as he took six points.
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