F1 News: RB boss reveals thoughts on latest pointless Daniel Ricciardo outing

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

F1 News & Gossip

RB boss reveals thoughts on latest pointless Ricciardo outing

Ricciardo and Tsunoda both crashed out in CHina

Originally written by Stuart Telford. This version is a translation.

Thursday 25 April 2024 20:00

Daniel Ricciardo had an abject Chinese Grand Prix, and now his RB boss Laurent Mekies has spoken out.

Ricciardo wasn't alone in having a disappointing outing at the Shanghai International Circuit, with his RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda joining him in crashing out of Sunday's main race.

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Australian Ricciardo suffered race-ending damage when he was hit by Aston Martin's Lance Stroll at the Turn 14 hairpin, while Japanese Tsunoda was spun around by Kevin Magnussen of Haas moments later.

It was an unwelcome double DNF for Red Bull Racing's sister team, and Mekies detailed his disappointment in an interview with RacingNews365.

"It is super disappointing because you get both your cars taken out of the race in separate incidents by competitors [within] one minute," he said. "So it is very disappointing. We feel we had everything to fight for that P10. We were in that fight.

"Daniel was producing a strong drive until then - just before the safety car, he was actually attacking Lewis [Hamilton]. We feel we were in good shape to fight with Nico [Hulkenberg] for that position. It's the way it is. We've lost that opportunity through no fault of our drivers. So we know we have to take it on the chin and move forward.

"For sure, it's difficult to swallow but we need to look at the positives. The positives are that once again here, we had time to fight for the P10. And every weekend, it's a fight for that last half-a-tenth to be in that fight or not. And we were here as well, this weekend.

RB had previously clocked a pair of top 10 finishes in 2024, with Tsunoda securing their best result in coming seventh at the Australian GP.

Tsunoda is 11th in the drivers' standings on seven points, whilst Ricciardo is yet to score a point. Ricciardo wants to return to Red Bull to partner Max Verstappen, but he needs to get back on track, and fast, if he wants to realise that dream.

Daniel Ricciardo Yuki Tsunoda Chinese Grand Prix Laurent Mekies Shanghai International Circuit