F1 News: Daniel Ricciardo Breaks Silence After Yuki Tsunoda Clash

The Bahrain Grand Prix controversy between Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo carried on behind closed doors.

Daniel Ricciardo has opened up about his team's decision to change positions with Yuki Tsunoda during the Bahrain Grand Prix's final moments. The incident sparked a debate within the RB Formula 1 team, ending with the Japanese driver divebombing his Australian teammate during the cooldown lap.

Key Takeaways:

• Yuki Tsunoda was instructed by RB team to let Daniel Ricciardo pass him in the closing stages of the Bahrain Grand Prix to attempt overtaking another competitor, leading to Tsunoda's visible frustration.
• Ricciardo defended the team's decision, suggesting that the strategy had been discussed pre-race and emphasizing the importance of adhering to team orders for potential race advantage.
• Both drivers expressed a need for post-race discussions with the team to understand the decision-making process, with Ricciardo admitting the call for the swap came possibly a lap too late.

The Bahrain Grand Prix ended with controversy for the RB Formula 1 team, following a contentious decision to swap drivers Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo in the race's final laps. Tsunoda, who was on the verge of overtaking Kevin Magnussen for 12th place, was told to let Ricciardo, who was on a faster tyre compound, pass him to challenge Magnussen. Despite complying, Tsunoda's immediate reaction over the team radio presented his anger. 

“Are you kidding me, now?” he questioned. 

Tsunoda, now breaking his silence, expressed his confusion over the team's strategy, indicating a gap in communication or understanding of the race plan. 

"I was just about to overtake Magnussen, I was side by side on the main straight and got a driver swap [in the] last few laps," he said. “To be honest, I didn’t understand what the team thought. So, I have to understand what they were thinking, but so far I don’t understand.

“We have to review what was their thoughts to be honest, I don’t really understand.”

Contrastingly, Ricciardo provided a different viewpoint:

“We talk about it as well, obviously before the race. We go through strategy.

“We have a few plans of what strategy we might do, but it was highly likely that me starting the race on a used Soft, I was going to finish the race on a new Soft and have an attacking last stint.

“Yeah, the call was quite expected. I know when you’re in the race you’re a little more emotional and it’s a bit more intense, but this call came as no surprise.

“And obviously, every lap counts when you’re on this tyre and you’re trying to get that little bit of grip out of it, so you need to react to the team call.

“Also, we weren’t in a points position yet, so there’s really nothing to lose: just let me go and see if I can do something about it.”

Despite Ricciardo's inability to surpass Magnussen and secure a points finish, he noted his willingness to revert positions with Tsunoda if it had been requested by the team.

“If we were in maybe a points position or something…But obviously in the end we were…whether I’m 13th or 14th, I don’t know if any driver cares about that but I don’t.

“So if the team said let him back by before the finish line I would’ve done it because it means nothing to me. Unless we’re in the points, who cares?

“But’s really just…I think if you’re in a points position, if he’s letting me by for ninth, he’s 10th or whatever, then you maybe swap again if I can’t get eighth. But in that situation, I guess it didn’t matter."

 Despite the call, Ricciardo was unhappy with the call regardless of the outcome:

“To be honest, I would say being fully transparent from my side I think the call was already maybe one lap too late. And then he’s reacted later than that, so when there’s Soft tyres like this, every lap is crucial.

“So I think I already lost probably two and a half good laps of the tyre, and that was maybe the difference.

“Could we have caught, I guess it was maybe, or whoever was in 10th [Lance Stroll]? No. I think maybe at best we got Zhou [Guanyu].

“So points were still tricky. But we had to try something.”