F1 News: Daniel Ricciardo suffers MAJOR Miami setback amid penalty woes

Daniel Ricciardo, VCARB, Visa, RB, China, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

Miami Grand Prix

Ricciardo suffers MAJOR Miami setback amid F1 penalty woes

Daniel Ricciardo suffers an early qualifying exit in Miami

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Saturday 4 May 2024 22:36 Updated: 21:51

Daniel Ricciardo has failed to get out of Q1 during Miami Grand Prix qualifying.

After a three-place grid penalty earned from the Chinese GP for breaching safety car rules, the Australian will start Sunday's race down in last barring any penalties, following a poor qualifying performance that saw him only able to put his RB car in 18th.

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Yuki Tsunoda, however, made it into Q3 ahead of both Aston Martins, once again outqualifying his much more experienced team-mate.

It was despite an impressive sprint performance for Ricciardo, where he qualified and finished in fourth ahead of Ferrari's Carlos Sainz to take home some crucial points.

Daniel Ricciardo has been outperformed by Yuki Tsunoda

Mixed fortunes for Ricciardo in Miami

Ricciardo has been under immense pressure to keep his seat in the sport of late, with a disappointing start to the season being added to the fact that his contract runs out at the end of 2024.

The Australian had been touted to take Sergio Perez's seat at his old Red Bull team before the season started, but those hopes seem to be fading rapidly, particularly with this latest qualifying disaster, where Ricciardo appeared out of sorts and unable to piece a lap together.

The sprint race was a much-needed result for the RB driver, who has been eclipsed by Tsunoda in most sessions so far this season.

Ferrari Daniel Ricciardo Carlos Sainz Miami Grand Prix RB