Daniel Ricciardo, 4th in the Qualification Sprint
Struggling at the beginning of the season, Daniel Ricciardo seems to have experienced a resurgence in performance since China. He finished fourth in the qualifying session for the Sprint race.
Daniel Ricciardo’s season has been tough so far, between the heated on-track exchanges with Yuki Tsunoda and a certain lack of performance. In order to give him every possible chance and not rush to judgment, the team decided to build him a new chassis, unveiled at the Chinese Grand Prix.
The results were not long in coming as the balance sheet is now flattering compared to his teammate: 14th vs. 18th in Sprint qualifying and 12th vs. 19th in regular qualifying. In the Sprint race, the Australian finished just outside the points while Yuki Tsunoda was stuck in 16th place. The next day, Mr. Smile was fighting for the valuable tenth place point when he was hit by Lance Stroll under the safety car.
In Miami, the positive trend continued and even intensified. Indeed, Daniel Ricciardo managed to bring his Racing Bulls up to fourth place, even though it was his first Q3 of the year. At the same time, Yuki Tsunoda had not done better than 15th, whether with or without his time eventually canceled during Q2. At this rate, maybe it’s the Japanese who will ask for a change of chassis…
In any case, Daniel Ricciardo let his joy burst out as soon as he returned to the pits. His engineer said, “Oh I am so happy for you, I am so happy for us too.” The driver then replied, “Our place is in front. So that’s very good and I’m happy for everyone.” In the paddock, we could see the bright smiles of the good old days. Now it remains to be confirmed during the Sprint race. The points he could score there would be the first of the season and could prove crucial in the fierce battle between the midfield teams.
From our special correspondent in Miami
