Daniel Ricciardo admits Q1 elimination was a ‘salt in the wounds’ at the Australian GP

Daniel Ricciardo's early-season struggles have continued at the Australian GP after a dismal result in Qualifying. The 34-year-old will start the race in P18 on Sunday.

Daniel Ricciardo admits Q1 elimination was a ‘salt in the wounds’ at the Australian GP

Daniel Ricciardo (Via: Imago)

Daniel Ricciardo suffered a disappointing end to Qualifying at the Australian GP. The local hero was expected to score great results in his home race. However, the 34-year-old sustained an early elimination in Q1 due to violating track limits on Turn 4. Hence, Ricciardo opened up about his feelings after the end of the session,

Daniel Ricciardo pointed out that he was ‘all over’ the exit of Turn 4 and hence violated track limits at the corner. The Australian driver mentioned that he crossed the line thinking he made it past Q1. Although it was still slower.. The 34-year-old still doesn’t feel too comfortable with some aspects of the VCARB01 as showcased during the Australian GP qualifying.

Exit of turn 4. I was all over it, trying to keep it on track. I crossed the line thinking that was the lap, and it was still slower. There is still a few things that I am not confident about.
Ricciardo told during post-qualifying interview (H&T: @JunaidSamodien_/X).
YouTube video

Ricciardo asserted that he did everything possible to get a good result in Quali. However, the turn 4 issues ‘rubbed salt’ in the Aussie driver’s wounds in a disappointing 2024 season. The 34-year-old subsequently mentioned that he was trying his best but unable to convert like he wanted to. As a result, the early season struggles continue for the Honey Badger.

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I felt I did everything I could, but turn 4 rubs some salt in the wounds. I am trying, but it's not converting like it should.
Ricciardo noted.

Yuki Tsunoda confident after outqualifying Daniel Ricciardo third race in a row

In contrast to Daniel Ricciardo, Yuki Tsunoda had a much better finish to Qualifying at Albert Park. Tsunoda managed to put a lap time of 1:16:788 which helped him qualify in P8. As a result, the Japanese driver would have a much more comfortable start to the race as compared to his Australian counterpart.

Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo
Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo (Via IMAGO)

Tsunoda asserted that he felt great confidence from Friday’s FP1. Additionally, the 23-year-old suggested that this was the reason for squeezing out extra milliseconds during qualifying. As a result, it would be exciting to see how Ricciardo fares against his Japanese teammate at the Australian GP.

I felt very good confidence from FP1, and I think that was the main reason why we were able to squeeze a couple of extra miliseconds.
Tsunoda told during post-qualifying interview (H&T: @JunaidSamodien_/X).

VisaCashAppRB showcased great pace from Tsunoda’s challenger during the session. Even Ricciardo had a great pace and could’ve run through the Q1 session. However, the violation prevented him from going through to the Q2 session. As a result, the Aussie would have to push extra hard to enable any chances of scoring points at the Australian GP.

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