Breaking news
Formula 1
Ricciardo: Qualifying vs Verstappen "pretty bleak"
Daniel Ricciardo believes his "pretty bleak" qualifying record this season is a result of taking too long to understand his Red Bull Formula 1 car at races.
Scott Mitchell Adam Cooper
Published: Oct 12, 2018, 9:00 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Ricciardo won two of the first six races in 2018 but has not stood on the podium since winning the Monaco Grand Prix from pole position.
He has outpaced teammate Max Verstappen in only four qualifying sessions across the 17 events so far, including Verstappen's no-show in Monaco qualifying and crash in Bahrain.
Ricciardo trails Verstappen by 0.22s on average across the qualifying sessions held in similar conditions and that they have both completed.
"It's been pretty bleak," said Ricciardo. "Maybe I made my own bed in Monaco, because I was like, 'This has been awesome, and this happiness will carry me through the rest of the year'.
"So, if there is someone who's controlling it all, maybe they took that literally for me!
"Last year I wasn't that happy with my qualifying, I thought [at] the start of this year I started to improve some things, but I haven't really got everything out of it.
"Or maybe Max is just getting a lot better, I don't know! [But] I'm not done yet."
On average, Ricciardo has trailed Verstappen by two tenths in dry qualifying sessions this season.
The Australian says his teammate deserves credit for his efforts but "it's not necessarily he was like bigger balls in that corner or whatever".
Ricciardo added: "In hindsight I'd like to be more proactive on some things, more set-up.
"I feel like just a lot of the time we understand it, but then it's too late.
"I guess we're still learning, that's the thing, but obviously he's been getting more on top of than I have."
Ricciardo has not been helped by a bad run including technical setbacks, grid penalties and plain bad luck.
He was caught out by the weather in Hungary and Belgium, grid penalties limited him to Q1 laps only in Germany, Italy and Russia and in Japan he suffered a throttle actuator failure at the start of Q2.
Ricciardo has pointed out before that even his Monaco success was tainted by the MGU-K failure in the race that made the grand prix more difficult.
"We have really struggled to think of a smooth weekend we've had from start to finish," said Ricciardo, who will leave Red Bull for Renault after this season and is seeking to end his time with his long-term backer on a high.
"I don't want it to come across all negative but I think it's more like we've just had a really unlucky run. I don't really know why. Obviously I'm frustrated and fed up but I'm not going to let it get the best of me.
"I'm just going to keep trying and believe it will eventually turn around, hopefully at some point this year."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Analysis: Was Alonso right to be on the warpath?
Next article Williams signs Russell for 2019 F1 season
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Scott Mitchell
Alfa Romeo must do better in "chaotic" races - Vasseur
Formula 1
Formula 1
Alfa Romeo must do better in "chaotic" races - Vasseur
Honda: Verstappen relationship 'like a young Senna'
Formula 1
Formula 1
Honda: Verstappen relationship 'like a young Senna'
Key team personnel shouldn't be F1 boss - Ferrari
Formula 1
Formula 1
Key team personnel shouldn't be F1 boss - Ferrari
Latest news
William Byron to run Jeff Gordon throwback Axalta scheme at Phoenix
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
2 min
William Byron to run Jeff Gordon throwback Axalta scheme at Phoenix
Alexander Rossi takes over IR-28 testing as IndyCar pushes new chassis to the limit at Sebring
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 18 min
Alexander Rossi takes over IR-28 testing as IndyCar pushes new chassis to the limit at Sebring
Daniel Suarez confirms Spire return for 2027 NASCAR Cup season
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
22 min
Daniel Suarez confirms Spire return for 2027 NASCAR Cup season
Spy shots of 2027 NASCAR Ford Mustang testing at Charlotte, but what's different?
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
3 h
Spy shots of 2027 NASCAR Ford Mustang testing at Charlotte, but what's different?
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe