Daniel Ricciardo started the Hungarian Grand Prix inside the top ten.
But the veteran F1 driver didn’t stop there.
Ricciardo started the race on the medium compound and pitted early, switching to hard tyres when he returned on lap eight, but his early pit stop left him in a traffic jam from which he struggled to regain his position on the track.
Ricciardo made up a few positions during his second pit stop but ultimately finished just outside the points in 12th place.
That “long and frustrating” afternoon left the Australian driver searching for answers after the race.
“It was a long and frustrating race today,” Ricciardo said in his team’s post-race report. “We didn’t use the pace we had in the clear air. We were on the medium tyres at the start of the race but after a few laps we got stuck in traffic when other cars started on the soft tyres and had to switch to new hard tyres. It makes it even more frustrating because after being fast all weekend we couldn’t fight the faster cars on the new tyres and it felt like we dropped out of the race early.” [tires].”
VCARB team principal Laurent Mekies admitted the team “made the wrong decision” regarding Ricciardo on Sunday.
“Unfortunately for Daniel, he made the wrong decision and pitted early in traffic, missing a chance to score points. His pace was very strong all weekend and he showed his strength again in the final stint of the race when he finally found free air and was able to make a comeback,” Mekies explained. “We understand his frustration, but he will learn from it and come back even stronger next week.”
However, all was not lost for the team, as Yuki Tsunoda overcame the bruising he sustained in a crash in Saturday’s qualifying to finish the race in ninth place and score two vital points for the team in the battle with Haas for sixth place in the F1 Constructors’ Championship.
Tsunoda praised the entire team for getting the RB01 into the points on Sunday after Saturday’s major accident.
“Firstly, I’d like to give a huge thank you to my mechanics and team who worked hard between last night and this morning to repair the car in time for the race. It wasn’t easy after the big crash and we had to change a lot of things, but thanks to their hard work we were able to score some points today. Huge kudos to the whole team,” said Tsunoda. “I’m very relieved to have made up for yesterday’s crash and I’m especially happy with how my car is doing. [tire] Management. I think it was a big race for us, especially finishing ahead of our rivals, and it will be a big plus for us in future races.”
Tsunoda’s two points give VCARB a six-point lead over Haas heading into Belgium for next weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, the final race before F1’s summer break.
