During the winter tests, RB talked about the progress made, but the first race was held without points…
Daniel Ricciardo (13th) “Today we were not good enough to earn points. At the beginning of the race there was not enough grip on the Soft tires; in the mid-range, on the Hard tires, we managed to increase the speed, but it was still not easy to drive. In the last segment the fresh Soft kit worked much better. At that point I started to overtake a group of pilots, but in traffic I got stuck behind other cars and lost traction.
When the team asked Yuki to skip me, it was pretty expected. Before the start we discussed the strategic options; there was a good chance that I would finish the race with a new set of Soft tires after starting on a broken-in set.
Everything is as it is, we have to put this race behind us and prepare for the next one. I’m sure we will be in better shape next week in Jeddah.”
Yuki Tsunoda (14th): “Up to about half the race distance I was fighting for points, then I realized that the chances were getting smaller. We have to analyze everything and draw conclusions. The season has just started, this is the first race – there is enough time ahead to fix everything.
Overall, the weekend turned out to be useful. The mechanics did a great job during the pit stops and we will still think about the strategy for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
