Daniel Ricciardo Speaks Out On Yuki Tsunoda's Strong 'Downgrade' Claim

Saajan Jogia | Sep 9, 2024

Jun 7, 2024; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; RB driver driver Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) in the pit lane during the practice session at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images / Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

Daniel Ricciardo is willing to give the Italian Grand Prix upgrades a try at the upcoming race in Baku, which his teammate Yuki Tsunoda tested at Monza. The Japanese driver was furious about a drop in the VCARB01 F1 car's pace as a result of the modification, fearing that it could have been a "downgrade."

Tsunoda's performance has recently faltered, with several finishes outside the points. VCARB (RB) introduced upgrades to both cars in Spain, but unforeseen negative side effects forced the team to abandon the changes.

At Monza, a fresh upgrade was experimented on Tsunoda's car. However, the surprise arrived after he was eliminated in Q1. Despite a DNF race result, he was able to assess the new parts and offered a critical verdict. He told the media:

“I came into the weekend with high expectations with this upgrade, and it didn’t seem to work, so I hope it is not a downgrade.

“We just didn’t have the pace and the limitations around the lap [compared to Ricciardo] are kind of similar.

“Whatever I do is just exaggerating limitations and I just keep sliding so it sucks but it is pretty hard to catch up.

“If you see the numbers [on the simulator], I should gain some lap time, but it is not even close to that and pretty far off from what we wanted for sure.”

Now though, Ricciardo, who raced the older spec VCARB 01 at Monza, intends to try the upgrades at the upcoming Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Revealing his analysis, he told the media:

“Unless the team see some strong negatives, the plan is to still run them in Baku.

“I think sometimes what you can’t predict is on track, it might produce more load, but maybe it shifts the balance and setting up the car is trickier.

“Maybe that is what we just didn’t get quite right to exploit all of the grip, but it is hard for me to speak on.

“I want to believe it can still be good, because obviously the last one wasn’t too good for us. 

“I’d like to think this one is better but obviously only Yuki has the experience with it and he was vocal about having a tough weekend, so we will see.

“It is something I would definitely like to try and give at least a session and have a feel for it before maybe saying it is not the one.”

He added:

“We obviously have reason to believe it is better, but I haven’t driven it, so I can’t say if it is better or not, but it has been tricky.

“I think a combination of low downforce and a new asphalt [at Monza] means it is quite peaky to find the grip and put laps together.”