Daniel Ricciardo claims RB upgrade struggles ‘above his pay grade’ amidst performance slump

Daniel Ricciardo reckoned that it was upto the RB engineers to fix the team's recent struggles.

Daniel Ricciardo claims RB upgrade struggles ‘above his pay grade’ amidst performance slump

Daniel Ricciardo (via IMAGO)

Red Bull sister team RB where Daniel Ricciardo drives, brought major upgrades for the Spanish GP which did not work as expected. Both Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda was knocked out in qualifying and didn’t score any points during the race. The two have failed to make major progress since.

Daniel Ricciardo was asked about the problems car faced upon upgrading. The Australian highlighted that he doesn’t have any technical expertise and that is something above his pay grade. He suggested that it might be a more complex problem that involves detailed analysis beyond his role as a driver. The 35-year-old said any updates usually go back to the aerodynamics department, which is responsible for optimizing how the car interacts with air.

That is above my paygrade, but I guess all the updates go back to the aero department.
Daniel Ricciardo said, as reported by RacingNews365
YouTube video

Daniel Ricciardo explained that it’s not just about deciding whether an upgrade didn’t work, it’s also important to understand the reasons behind its failure. Ricciardo added, identifying what went wrong, the team can learn valuable lessons for future improvements. This understanding will allow them to make better decisions about which changes to implement next. Further, it will ensure that future updates will truly benefit the car’s performance.

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So it is not saying that "Oh, it didn't work', it is also understanding why it didn't work so we know what we bring moving forward is going to benefit us.
Daniel Ricciardo stated
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Daniel Ricciardo confident over VCARB01 having the ‘best parts’

Daniel Ricciardo stated that currently, the team had finished experimenting with new updates. He mentioned, RB brought several changes to the car in Barcelona, and while some of those changes worked well, others did not perform as expected. The 35-year-old noted that up until that point, he felt confident that every update they added to the car was helping improve its performance.

I'd say for now, the experimenting is done as we brought quite a bit to Barcelona and some things were good, some were not. Until that point, I felt everything we were putting on the car worked and was giving us performance.
Daniel Ricciardo explained
Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo (via IMAGO)

Daniel Ricciardo stated that the team needed to gain a better understanding of how everything was working together. He felt positive because they were confident that they had the best parts on the car. This meant that while they were still figuring out some details about performance, they believed the quality of the parts they were using was top-notch. Ricciardo believed this confidence was important for the team’s future, as it provided a strong base for improvements and helped them focus on getting the most out of the car with the best parts.

A little bit of understanding has to take place, but at least we are now confident that we have the best parts on the car.
Daniel Ricciardo added

Certainly, Daniel Ricciardo highlighted the importance of understanding performance as he expressed confidence in having the best parts. This confidence is crucial for future improvements and maximizing the car’s potential.

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