Ricciardo is honest: “Even in clean air, I was struggling a lot.”

Finishing 16th in the Belgian Grand Prix, certainly wasn't the result Daniel Ricciardo was hoping for in his second race with AlphaTauri. Struggling throughout the race, he gives a bleak assessment of his Grand Prix performance at the back of the pack.

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Rédigé par Par

After a promising race in Hungary, the Belgian round at Spa-Francorchamps did not have the same taste for Daniel Ricciardo. Worse yet, his young teammate Yuki Tsunoda managed to clinch the 10th place point. After a challenging race, the Australian delivered his verdict.

« Even in clean air, I was struggling a lot. I felt like I didn’t have enough grip, then I was sliding and overheating very quickly,” » Daniel Ricciardo declared upon finishing the Grand Prix. A recurring issue for some drivers in this Grand Prix, where tire management was crucial.

« We were always around cars that were very fast on a straight line as well, so I was looking at their gearboxes today, he continued. With a struggling car in terms of tires and poor top speed, Ricciardo suffered.

« I was easily being overtaken even though we all had new tires, and then when things calmed down, I had a better pace, but I was stuck behind them. Obviously, this is not good for the tires either » explained Daniel Ricciardo. A vicious circle between tire management and overtaking, he found himself stuck at the back of the pack like other drivers, just like Alex Albon who faced the same issues.

However, Daniel Ricciardo knows that there are many lessons to be learned from this Belgian Grand Prix, especially in terms of tire management. Despite the disappointment, he does not forget to congratulate his teammate for the impressive performance and his 10th place finish.

« It was our only dry session of the whole weekend, and we went in the wrong direction with the settings. I’m glad to have finished the race. There’s a lot to learn, and a lot of feedback for the team. I saw Yuki secure 10th place, so it looks like he had a decent race, so I’ll try to learn from him as well » he concluded.

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