RB was tipped to be one of the surprise packages for 2024, having built on a strong end to its 2023 campaign under its previous AlphaTauri guise.
And while Ricciardo had played down the hype around his rebranded team ahead of the Sakhir event, RB did prove to be a Q3 contender after Yuki Tsunoda and Ricciardo qualified 11th and 14th respectively.
Tsunoda particularly had a right to feel aggrieved after missing the cut by a mere 0.007s, while Ricciardo, 1.5 tenths off the top 10, admitted he didn’t wring an optimal lap out of the VCARB 01.
“I’m disappointed I didn’t put it together because that’s what qualifying is for. And you meant to put it together when it counts, so I’m kind of grumpy at myself,” he said.
“I didn’t drive shit or anything, but I never really crossed the line being like: ‘Yeah, I did a clean lap’.
“There were always some parts on the track where I knew there was lap time, but I never really was able to put it together. Even if I improved a little bit, then I’d probably lose a bit in the next corner.
“But taking Yuki in 11th, we felt like if we do like a great lap, Q3 is possible. But otherwise, we’re probably around that top 12 area, so I think it’s where we are for now.”
Daniel Ricciardo, Visa Cash App RB F1 Team, in the pit lane
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Ricciardo is still confident he and Tsunoda can sneak into the top 10 in the race in what is shaping up to be an extremely competitive battle for the lower points positions.
“Yeah, I definitely think we can still do it,” the 34-year-old said. “Everything’s close, so there’s a lot to play for.
“If you just have that extra tenth in the race to manage the tyres better, then you can definitely be fighting in the points.
“We weren’t too bad in the long runs, so there’s some optimism that we could maybe shuffle our way towards the front.
“And it’s the first race, anything can happen as well. Some people [in front] might get excited…”
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