The Chinese Grand Prix saw the first Sprint Race weekend of the 2024 Formula 1 season take place and the format appeared to be an immediate improvement compared to last year.
While the Red Bull drivers appeared on the podium on both occasions, Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris both recorded the best results of their season on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
Further down the grid, there was an intense battle to finish in the points in both races, with Nico Hulkenberg ultimately the man who benefitted.
Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu came within one position in the Sprint Race of scoring his first points of the season in an emotional weekend at his home track.
While he was out of contention to score points in Sunday’s Grand Prix, one man who should have finally broken his duck in 2024 was Daniel Ricciardo.
The £105,000-a-week driver has had a really tough start to the season and his future in the sport has been questioned.
However, RB team principal Laurent Mekies admitted to Racing News 365 that it was so disappointing to see Ricciardo have his race ended before the chequered flag.
He was in the mix for an important top-ten finish and finally got the better of his teammate.
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RB team principal Laurent Mekies admits ‘disappointing’ outcome for Daniel Ricciardo
Heading into the race in China, Daniel Ricciardo had to deal with stories suggesting it could be his final race before being replaced by the team.
Liam Lawson – his likely replacement – had to deny the rumours but Red Bull are known to be ruthless.
So, when Yuki Tsunoda – who has been one of the in-form drivers in 2024 – was eliminated in Q1 in both qualifying sessions, Ricciardo suddenly had a chance to shine.
He reached Q2 in both sessions, starting 14 and 12, and moved up to 11 in the Sprint Race.
However, when the safety car came out for Sunday’s Grand Prix, Ricciardo was competing with Lance Stroll and Nico Hulkenberg for the final point.
Unfortunately, Stroll didn’t react fast enough to the concertina ahead of him, running into the back of Ricciardo.
The damage to Ricciardo’s diffuser ended his race and RB team boss Laurent Mekies could not hide how disappointing the result was for the Australian.
While there were plenty of positives for the 34-year-old to take from the race, he still sits 18 in the Drivers’ Championship.
Laurent Mekies rues Daniel Ricciardo’s bad luck in China
Reflecting on the race, Mekies said: “It is super disappointing because you get both your cars taken out of the race in separate incidents by competitors [within] one minute [of] time,” he said.
“So, it is very disappointing. We feel we had everything to fight for that P10. We were in that fight, Daniel [Ricciardo] was producing a strong drive until then.
“Just before the safety car, he was actually attacking Lewis [Hamilton].
“We feel we were in good shape to fight with Nico [Hulkenberg] for that position. It’s the way it is. We’ve lost that opportunity through no fault of our drivers. So, we know we have to take it on the chin and move forward.
“For sure it’s difficult to swallow but we need to look at the positives.
“The positives are that once again here, we had time to fight for the P10.
“And every weekend, it’s a fight for that last half-a-tenth to be in that fight or not. And we were here as well, this weekend.
“We had started in a slower fashion on Friday but somehow we managed to recover through the weekend and to be with the right pace to fight for that point. So that’s the positive.”
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What happens next for Daniel Ricciardo?
It was a disappointing day for RB with both Ricciardo and Tsunoda’s races ended by other drivers and Mekies will be hoping that bad luck doesn’t continue in Miami.
Liam Lawson is expected to ‘definitely’ have a seat within the team in 2025.
That means Mekies, or more likely Helmut Marko, has to decide between Tsunoda and Ricciardo who will be retained for next year.
Tsunoda should currently be in the driving seat to stay with the team for a fifth season.
However, Alex Brundle suggested that Ricciardo is now back to his best and if that’s the case, then the intra-team battle at V-CARB is about to get very exciting.
The post ‘Super disappointing’: 46-year-old F1 team boss left very frustrated for £105k-a-week driver in China appeared first on F1 Oversteer.