Daniel Ricciardo rues ‘mystery’ as RB driver ‘really struggled’ in Saudi Arabian GP practice

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Daniel Ricciardo admits he finds it a ‘mystery’ why the Visa Cash App RB driver ‘really struggled’ to improve his lap time in second practice at the 2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP.

The 34-year-old was left scratching his head after FP2 at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit this Thursday. Ricciardo had posted the 12th fastest lap in the opening session with his 1:30.917, eclipsing RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda by 0.119 seconds. But the Australian fell to 19th in FP2.

Tsunoda, on the other hand, shot up the timesheet to set the 11th fastest lap in FP2 with his 1:29.666. The 23-year-old humbled the 1:30.088 that Ricciardo would manage during the RB racer’s qualifying sim. Only Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas ended FP2 with a slower lap at 1:30.153.

Daniel Ricciardo rues ‘mystery’ pace issues at the Saudi Arabian GP

RB gave Ricciardo and Tsunoda new sets of Pirelli’s soft compound tyres early on in FP2. But the track improving later in the session as their rival drivers completed their qualifying sims ensured Ricciardo dropped down the order. Yet Tsunoda’s lap still proved to be respectable.

Ricciardo could not fathom why his second run with another set of soft tyres to prepare for qualifying at the Saudi Arabian GP saw the Visa Cash App RB driver struggle so much. It left the Perth native with more questions than answers having initially looked likely to challenge.

“It was a session of two halves,” Ricciardo noted, via quotes by Speedcafe. “We had two sets of soft and the first set was actually, I’d say, really good, like, much more competitive.

“I guess not everyone had a soft. But I think we were looking better at that point in time – maybe seventh or something. We were in the fight, as they say.

“And then the second set, I struggled a lot. Then you got the track getting better and everything and everyone improving, and I really struggled to improve. There was a bit of traffic and a few things. But, honestly, that second set was a bit more of a mystery.”

Visa Cash App RB star Daniel Ricciardo has a clear corner to improve

Speedcafe notes that Ricciardo started his fastest lap in FP2 with a lower top speed than the pace-setting Fernando Alonso. The Aston Martin driver topped the session with his 1:28.827 lap, 1.261 seconds faster than Ricciardo – who was also 20km/h (12.5mph) slower in Turn 4.

The pace Ricciardo lost through Turn 4 proved costly as he carried his deficit all the way into Turn 8. RB will hope the Australian can carry a higher minimum speed through the left-hand T4 when it comes to qualifying for the Saudi Arabian GP after starting the Bahrain GP in P14.