“Painful”: Qualifying puts Ricciardo on the slow road in Monaco
Matt Clayton
Monday, 27 May 2024
An inability to up the pace in Q2 left Daniel Ricciardo outside the top 10 on the grid in Monaco, leaving him stuck behind Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso en route to finishing 12th.
Daniel Ricciardo said he’d pushed for “two laps” of Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix, the RB driver left to lament a poor Q2 lap that consigned him to a mid-pack qualifying result that led to a 12th-place finish.
Ricciardo struggled to make the same gains as his rivals on his final push lap in the second phase of qualifying on Saturday, falling to 13th as RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda slotted into the top 10.
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The Australian knew he’d be in for a long afternoon on Sunday even after gaining a position on the grid when Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) was excluded from qualifying after his car failed post-session scrutineering.
“It hurts around here because qualifying is so important,” he said.
“I enjoy driving here, but the classification takes that enjoyment out of it.”
Ricciardo had mixed fortunes across the two race starts, the original race being red-flagged after a massive first-lap shunt involving Hulkenberg, his teammate Kevin Magnussen and Sergio Perez (Red Bull).
“The first start, it was one of our few very good starts this year but it put me in a position I didn’t actually want to be in, and I had to come out of [the throttle] and that allowed [Aston Martin’s Lance] Stroll to carry more momentum on the inside,” Ricciardo explained.
“He got me on the first one, and the second [start], he came across and protected on the inside and I think that allowed [Aston Martin’s Fernando] Alonso some room on the outside. So I looked at both Astons for the whole race.
“That’s no surprise, that’s how it is around here. I had two laps all race in clear air where I could push a little bit. They were enjoyable but the rest … there were a few with Alonso trying to create something so that was a little bit of fun, but not 70-something laps … that was a little bit painful.
“Not the Monaco I wanted, for sure.”
The 34-year-old is yet to score a point in eight Grands Prix this season – all five of his world championship points came after he finished a superb fourth in the Miami Sprint – and he admitted that seeing teammate Yuki Tsunoda score for the third GP in succession was bittersweet.
“There’s a lot of positives [with Tsunoda scoring points] but there’s some personal disappointment because it obviously can be done, and Yuki’s got points the last few races,” Ricciardo said.
“That’s where I’ve got to pick myself up and find what it is I’m not quite showing consistently. I feel like when I do show it, it’s obviously there … it has to come every weekend, otherwise that’s no good. Montreal, we’ll try to pick it up.”
Daniel's Monaco Grand Prix by the numbers
- Qualified: 13th (started 12th after Hulkenberg/Haas excluded from qualifying)
- Race: 12th
- Fastest lap: 1min 17.172secs (15th), lap 46
- Points this event: 0
- Points this season: 5 (14th in world championship)
