Daniel Ricciardo claims his Saudi Arabian GP was ‘painful’ due to flaws with VCARB 01

Daniel Ricciardo has started the 2024 F1 season on the backfoot in comparison to his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda.

Daniel Ricciardo claims his Saudi Arabian GP was ‘painful’ due to flaws with VCARB 01

Daniel Ricciardo (via IMAGO)

Coming into the season, Daniel Ricciardo was considered the lead driver in the VCARB outfit. However, a terrible weekend in Saudi Arabia went against the expectations of the Aussie. After the race, Ricciardo blamed his VCARB 01 for his miserable weekend and pointed out its flaws.

The Aussie had qualified behind his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, for the race on Saturday. Subsequently, the 34-year-old was optimistic about the race and aimed to finish ahead in the points. However, the race turned out to be even worse for him as he had a slow pit stop during the race and spun later on which pushed him down the field.

https://youtu.be/6ddbiSTT6RI?si=kp3YYVvKIFVIzym_

While addressing the media Ricciardo stated:

FS Video
Honestly, we found a few things over the course of the weekend. But we’re heading into the race always upbeat and optimistic that maybe something happens. So we see a few flaws, honestly, with the car. So we got to get that fixed for the next one. 
Daniel Ricciardo said as reported by Motorsportweek

Daniel Ricciardo elaborated on his poor performance during the race and shared the flaws with the 2024 car. Subsequently, he finished 16th in the race and shared his feedback with the engineers in Faenza to resolve the issues in the car. Thus, the Aussie would be hoping for a better time in Melbourne and the flaws in the car to be resolved by then.

Helmut Marko has given an ultimatum to Daniel Ricciardo

With a poor weekend in Saudi Arabia and two botched qualifying sessions at the start of the 2024 season, Ricciardo has begun the campaign on the back foot. Subsequently, he can be subjected to Helmut Marko‘s sword if he doesn’t improve in the upcoming races.

Helmut Marko
Helmut Marko (via IMAGO)

When Marko was asked about how the VCARB drivers are performing, he stated:

Yuki’s qualifying was very good, and Ricciardo has to come up with something soon…
Helmut Marko said as reported by Formula1a

The Austrian iterated that Tsunoda has been on par with Ricciardo in the first two rounds. Moreover, the Aussie’s qualifying pace has slowed down and miracles like that in Mexico could bring his bid for the Red Bull seat back on track.

However, there is still a long way to go before the end of the season and Ricciardo will get ample chances to prove his worth on the highly-contested F1 grid. Moreover, the 34-year-old is the lead candidate for the Red Bull seat and is on the hunt for it.

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