Daniel Ricciardo Remains Encouraged by RB’s Upgraded Car at Spanish Grand Prix
Despite both drivers failing to advance to Q2, Daniel Ricciardo has expressed optimism about the RB team’s performance at the Spanish Grand Prix, citing the encouraging signs from their upgraded car.
The Faenza-based outfit had been on an upward trajectory in recent races and brought a slew of updates, including a new floor, to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. However, both Ricciardo and teammate Yuki Tsunoda struggled for pace throughout practice, ultimately failing to secure a spot in the second part of qualifying. Ricciardo managed only the 18th fastest time, one position behind Tsunoda on the grid.
When asked about the role of the new components in the disappointing result, Ricciardo suggested that there was still more to unlock from the package. “I’d like to think there’s still a bit more on the package to figure out, so that’s something we’ll keep doing,” he said. “But, on the flip side, I do feel like [in practice] we were much more out of balance, and actually today, in quali, the car felt much more together.”
Ricciardo emphasized that the team had made significant progress between Friday and Saturday, despite still lacking the necessary pace. “Yesterday felt like we were still trying to fight it [the car] a little bit, so we did make some bigger changes overnight. So, we probably haven’t perfected it right now, and maybe that’s the encouraging thing – but I feel like we did do a good job overnight to get the car in a better place.”
Understanding the new floor has been a key challenge for the team. “With the floors, when you get a new floor, obviously that’s where these cars are so powerful in terms of the load and the aero characteristics, so it’s just trying to get on top of that,” Ricciardo explained.
Tsunoda shared his teammate’s sentiments, acknowledging that the upgrade had worked as expected, but the team had failed to capitalize on it. “The upgrade seems to be working as we expected. So, I think the package is working. It’s not doing anything strange, but just purely, there’s something this week… and we tried multiple stuff, obviously, but wasn’t able to turn it around.”
The Japanese driver hinted that the team’s preparation for the weekend had been lacking, adding, “Hopefully, it’s track-specific, but also, we know what we could have done better to prepare this week, and we know what we are missing to probably make it better from the current situation.”
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