Daniel Ricciardo has admitted that he was ‘quite surprised’ by what his engineer, Pierre Hamelin, told the Visa Cash App RB driver in qualifying for the Spanish GP.
The 34-year-old bowed out in Q1 for the third time this season on Saturday after posting the 18th fastest time. Only the Williams duo of Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant registered slower lap times than Ricciardo. A mere 0.078s also split the Australian from the London-born Thai.
Visa Cash App RB also suffered a double Q1 exit at the Spanish GP with Yuki Tsunoda setting the 17th fastest time. Albeit, the 24-year-old only beat his experienced teammate’s quickest lap by 0.090s. The Japanese gem led RB’s qualifying 0.842s down on the overall fastest lap.
Daniel Ricciardo was stunned he only qualified P18 for the Spanish GP
But when Hamelin told Ricciardo that he was dumped out of qualifying for the Spanish GP in P18, the Perth native was stunned. After the Faenza outfit had taken further upgrades to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Ricciardo expected he would at least make it through to Q2.
Instead, the eight-time Grand Prix winner missed out on the intermediate stage by 0.194s to Lance Stroll of Aston Martin. Haas driver Kevin Magnussen joined the RB and Williams pilots in bowing out in Q1. Lewis Hamilton won the opening stage with Mercedes with a 1:12.143.
READ MORE: Five unforgettable Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona including Senna vs Mansell
Visa Cash App RB running an upgraded floor for the Spanish GP particularly gave Ricciardo a sense of optimism. He acknowledges the importance of having a strong floor in F1’s current ground effect era. So, for Hamelin to say he was P18 after qualifying, Ricciardo was stunned.
Ricciardo said, via quotes by Speedcafe: “When you get a new floor, that’s obviously where these cars are so powerful in terms of the load and aero characteristics.
“I felt like we made a good step today. But when Pierre told me P18, I think it was we ended up, I was… yeah. I didn’t really have anything to say on the radio because I was honestly quite surprised.
“I knew we were not going to be P10 but I honestly thought that [we] would have been good enough for Q2.”
Visa Cash App RB brought several upgrades to the Spanish GP
Visa Cash App RB brought multiple upgrades to the Spanish GP with the race the first of F1’s triple-header with the Austrian GP and the British GP. The Faenza team are running the floor that gave Ricciardo hope, plus a new engine cover and upper sidepod to develop the airflow.
Ricciardo and Tsunoda also have a new high-downforce rear wing that RB hoped would help them in Barcelona but also at Silverstone. Instead, they will start the Spanish GP at the rear, with only Williams lapping the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya slower than RB in qualifying.
The post ‘Honestly’: Ricciardo ‘surprised’ by what RB told him on F1 star’s radio at Spanish GP appeared first on F1 Oversteer.