RB Formula 1 team principal Laurent Mekies says that his team must give Daniel Ricciardo a car that he is “more comfortable with” after a difficult home Grand Prix for the Australian driver.
Ricciardo qualified 18th for the Australian Grand Prix after losing his best lap time for exceeding track limits.
Despite feeling happy with his final, invalidated attempt, the F1 veteran was left “puzzled” by the deficit he held to team-mate Yuki Tsunoda who advanced to Q3 for the second successive race.
Ricciardo ended last weekend’s race in 12th place after rivals Esteban Ocon and Yuki Tsunoda both encountered issues while Tsunoda cruised to seventh to pick up RB’s first points of the season.
Notwithstanding Ricciardo’s struggles with the VCARB 01, Mekies says RB remain fully behind the driver and must make the 34-year-old feel at home behind the wheel of its 2024 challenger.
“The truth is that we need to give him a car that he’s more comfortable with,” Mekies told Autosport.
“The truth is that we need to give him a car that he’s more comfortable with from FP1 here.
“We probably reached that stage only in qualifying with Daniel, and from there you need to build. And we feel that he has certainly done that in the race.
“He was as fast as the guys getting the points today. So we will have been fighting for the points with a more decent starting position.
“It’s another positive to take home, the fact that Daniel has produced a very strong race as well, even if he was starting from the back.”
RB F1 team CEO Peter Bayer felt that Ricciardo was too harsh on himself after qualifying, and asserted that his performance during the race in Melbourne was still strong given his starting position.
“I think he misinterpreted a bit the data,” Bayer added. “We actually had a look with him on what we have seen.
“And ultimately, I’m also taking positives away for Daniel, because he found his found his pace again in qualifying. I think if he could have done that lap on Friday, then he could have built on it.
“And honestly, I’m sure that he would have been in the in the top 10 as well in the qualifying. So we just need to take that away.
“On Sunday it’s difficult, because in terms of traffic, in terms of how you manage the race and where you position yourself, it’s also a track where it’s not easy to overtake.
“Honestly, he did a good job, solid job and we know that we can build on what we’ve seen here.”
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