Racing Bulls lack performance at home
With two cars in the top 10 during the race, Racing Bulls entered the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix full of hope. In the end, Yuki Tsunoda returned a single point for the team and Daniel Ricciardo finished 13th at Imola.
The team made things difficult for themselves from the start, Tsunoda and Ricciardo lost two places at the beginning of the race. The Japanese driver was stuck behind Nico Hülkenberg’s Haas, forcing the team to make a pit stop much earlier than planned.
Tsunoda’s pace on the hard tires was sufficient to overtake the Haas, allowing the Racing Bulls team to finally score a point. Tsunoda had to make the hard tires last for 50 laps. “In the end, I’m happy to have scored a point in front of our fans and the people who came from the factory,” Tsunoda said after the race.
« I think our pit stop slightly compromised our race because we lost a few positions compared to Nico [Hülkenberg]. He was fast on the straights, so we didn’t want to end up behind him, that’s why we decided to pit before him and earlier than planned.
« It was the crucial moment of the race, and I think we managed the strategy well and reacted well to Nico. This meant we had to extend our second stint and managing the hard tire for the last 15 laps was difficult, but well done to the team for the management, it’s positive. The start is the main subject we need to improve on », explains the Japanese.
Tsunoda scored points in four of the last five Grand Prix, plus the Sprint in Miami. This good run of results means he remains in tenth place in the driver standings, ahead of Lance Stroll.
Still no points for Ricciardo
As for Ricciardo, he also struggled right from the start, losing two positions proved crucial as he found himself stuck in a DRS train for much of the race. While some faster cars recovered after poor qualifying sessions, such as the Red Bull of Sergio Perez, scoring points was still going to be difficult in a race where there was only one retirement.
On my side, I didn’t feel like something had gone wrong [at the start], generally we know if we mess up the start by the way we release the clutch, we have a pretty good idea when it’s our fault, said the Australian after the race.
« I didn’t get the impression that something had gone wrong so yes, let’s wait and see, but as a team, we need to understand it. We simply lack consistency at this level and it immediately costs us points.”
Daniel Ricciardo has still not scored points in a Grand Prix proper, but he has at least some points in the standings thanks to his result at the Miami Sprint, where he secured five points. This places him 14th in the drivers’ championship, just behind Racing Bulls’ main rival this season, Nico Hülkenberg.
