Ricciardo forced to face 'reality' after Miami slide

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07/05/2024 06:11

Daniel Ricciardo can pinpoint exactly where his Miami Grand Prix weekend went awry.

On Saturday, Ricciardo recorded his best finish since his triumph at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix after finishing fourth in the sprint race at the Miami International Autodrome.

The former Red Bull driver stunned the competition the day before when he sealed the fourth-fastest lap during sprint qualifying.

However, his run of form earlier in the weekend did not carry over into qualifying as he fell down the grid with a loud thud.

After complaining of oversteer and finding himself stuck in traffic, Ricciardo qualified in 17th position — well off the pace of his earlier efforts.

With a three-place grid penalty from last month's Chinese Grand Prix carried over, Ricciardo started the 57-lap race dead last.

The Western Australian finished 15th in the grand prix on Monday morning AEST having had little impact on the race — two of his improvements came when Logan Sargeant crashed out on lap 29 and after Lance Stroll's 10-second time penalty was applied post-race.

Speaking afterwards, Ricciardo rued his poor performance in qualifying which put him on the back foot for the grand prix.

"Coming into a race, I'm always hopeful and optimistic and excited but I think we're quickly met with the reality that it's not the same when we're in traffic," he said.

"[During the sprint] I was able to use the pace and had a clear track, and could use the downforce and the grip of the car, but today, in these battles and with dirty air, we struggled."

Ricciardo spent the majority of his opening stint stuck behind the Haas of Kevin Magnussen.

"I think a lot of the cars in the race had a lot of downforce, so trying to attack and defend was simply not a straightforward one for us," he said.

"It just goes back to qualifying. It's so important.

"Obviously, yesterday, I was upset with the grip I had on that set of tyres and obviously, I still feel that way, but also, I'll always look at myself as well.

"I was like, yeah, I could have done a little bit better here and there, so I'll still hold myself accountable for sessions like that.

"We're quick, but we're not quick enough to start at the back and chop through the field, we're just simply not, so we've got to qualify better."

Ricciardo was outperformed by his RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda for the fourth time this season after the Japanese driver finished inside the points in seventh.

After six rounds, Ricciardo is positioned 14th in the drivers' standings with five world championship points.