Daniel Ricciardo crossed the line in 12th place at the Hungarian GP. The Australian was compromised almost immediately by poor strategy from VCARB. When he crossed the line, Ricciardo made no secret about his dissatisfaction with the team’s strategy.
Ricciardo compromised at a crucial race
Missing out from poor strategy is never a pleasant experience for an F1 driver. However, the timing of today’s race blunder could hardly have been worse for Ricciardo.
Sergio Perez is under huge pressure at Red Bull and is failing to respond with convincing results.
In this environment, there is a chance for Ricciardo and Tsunoda to earn a Red Bull promotion.
Whilst Tsunoda has been the better-performing VCARB driver this season, Ricciardo should not be written off.
He is still highly regarded by Christian Horner, and his pace throughout the year has gradually improved.
Ricciardo has emphasised the importance of delivering strong performances before the summer break.
This is also something that Red Bull’s senior personnel, including Helmut Marko, have stressed.
When he crossed the line in Budapest, however, the Australian’s exchange with his race engineer was always going to be awkward:
RIC: “I’m really trying to bite my tongue, but…
“You must know how I feel about the first stop.”
Engineer: “OK, understood.”
RIC: “If you feel the same… please.”
Engineer: “Yeah, we’ll review everything. We need to review everything.
“I don’t know what to say now.”
Of course, VCARB will review the race and try to explain their mistake.
The common phrase ‘we’ll come back stronger’ often finds its way into these situations.
However, the reality is that reviews and post-race debriefs have happened plenty of times before at VCARB.
Their decision to stop Ricciardo, especially given that he was on medium tyres, was a huge miscalculation.
Regardless of their analysis after the Grand Prix, Ricciardo will have to swallow a bitter pill.
At least for now, it is understandable if the 34-year-old is frustrated by the strategy department at Faenza.
