Daniel Ricciardo bemoaned not hooking up a complete lap during qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix which thwarted his hopes of earning a top-10 starting spot.
Ricciardo had been fortunate to advance to the second stage before fathoming the 14th fastest time in Q2, leaving him three places behind team-mate Yuki Tsunoda.
The Australian rued that he was unable to string together a single run where he didn’t leave lap time on the table but claims that he’s not concerned with the setback.
“I’m a little bit disappointed that I was disappointed in my position/performance,” Ricciardo reflected.
“I didn’t drive shit or anything but there was just some, I never really crossed the line being like, ‘Yeah, I did a clear lap’. There was always, ‘I can make time and Turn 1 or Turn 4’.
“There was 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, so it kind of see-sawed a bit. I was never progressively kind of gaining.
“I think in terms of team performance, this is kind of where we thought. I feel like there’s a bit more time on the table but taking Yuki in 11th, kind of, we felt like if we do like a great lap, Q3 is possible, but otherwise, we’re probably around that area. So, I think it’s where we are for now.
“We expected a little bit of a steady start to the year, so I wouldn’t say we’re disappointed. I’m a bit disappointed in my session but I think as a whole, we’re not worried or panicked.
“I think P12 would ultimately be the time. Yeah, I’m disappointed I couldn’t find those extra couple tenths.”
Ricciardo ended up over one-tenth adrift from progressing through to Q3 and he believes that the narrow margins made his qualifying result appear worse than it was.
“I think like from that point of view, as well. I’m not like… 14th on paper doesn’t look great, but I think on, as you say, looking at the times, it’s all very close.
“And yeah, there’s a lot to still be quite optimistic about. And as I said, I know there was some easy lap time I left on the table, so on one hand I’m like, ‘oh, yeah, it’s there’.
“But I’m disappointed I didn’t put it together because that’s what qualifying is for and you’re meant to put it together when it counts. So from that point of view I’m kind of grumpy at myself.”
Regarding the extent of his issues, Ricciardo explained how braking for Turn 1 was one area that he struggled to address despite understanding what he needed to alter.
“It was like I just struggled to put the lot together. I felt like if I pushed really hard in one corner, then I would probably mess up the next corner,” he elucidated.
“So I felt like it was a little bit tricky to just consistently improve in every corner. I felt like yeah, you gain a bit here lose a bit there then get it back and then… So it was a bit of a struggle.
“But then like, for example, Turn 1 I missed the apex quite a few times, just not getting the front in. But every lap was ‘Oh yeah, I know where that is’, you know brake and turn a little bit earlier, but I would still be looking past the apex when I got there. Yeah, I just missed a little bit.
“For sure a little bit in maybe some set-up or feeling with tyres. But as I said, I would expect myself to be able to find that in a few runs in quali.”
Asked whether points were still possible for RB, Ricciardo replied: “I definitely think we can still do it. I think, as you said, like, everything’s close, so there’s a lot to play for.
“I think you just have that extra tenth or two in the race and manage the tyres better then you can definitely be fighting in the points.
“I’ll shake off tonight and in about 60/90 minutes I’ll feel better and get getting ready for tomorrow.
“Excited to race again, definitely. I think quali was fun. It’s obviously intense and you get those kind of nerves again. But yeah, looking forward to the races.”
Nico Hulkenberg produced a stunning lap to make Q3, but with question marks over Haas’ long-run pace, Ricciardo believes that RB can target a top-10 race finish.
He added: “I mean obviously like Nico did a really good job today and if you look at obviously I’m not saying this last year, but if you look at last year, they’d normally struggle a bit more on race day, so if that’s the same trend, then maybe that’s one car we can potentially find.
“We weren’t too bad in the long runs. So there’s some optimism that we could kind of maybe shuffle our way towards the front.
“And it’s the first race. Anything can happen as well. So you never know. Just have to keep my head on a swivel and the rest will follow.”
