Daniel Ricciardo held back by his strategy in Barcelona
In the lead at the start of the race, Daniel Ricciardo had to settle for fourth place. His three-stop strategy didn't help him, while his team-mate Max Verstappen won his first race.
Daniel Ricciardo knows very well that he is under pressure with the arrival of Max Verstappen. Already in qualifying, it was important for him to be ahead of his teammate in Q3 as he had been dominated in Q1 and Q2. At the start of the race, he took advantage of his better spot on the grid to lead the discussions ahead of his teammate.
If he was never threatened until his second stop, this moment was decisive for the rest of the race since the switch to new soft tires shifted him to a three-stop strategy, which made him lose the benefit of his very good start to the race, as he himself acknowledges: “Mixed feelings today, for sure. Part of it is just related to bad luck. I was leading and switched to a three-stop strategy, which meant I had to try to pass three cars on the track, which is not easy.”
He takes the opportunity to slip a message to his leaders by reminding them that he did not choose this offbeat strategy: « In hindsight, the three-stop strategy was the wrong thing to do. But maybe during the race, it seemed like the right thing to do for the team. »
His end of the race was also marked by his battle with Sebastian Vettel, during which he attempted several overtaking maneuvers before having to concede due to a puncture: « I wasn’t satisfied with being fourth. So I tried to overtake Vettel, I saw an opportunity but it didn’t work. It really hurts not even being on the podium. Then the puncture at the end just added salt to an open wound. »
For the Australian, it was more the disappointment of not being on the podium, or even better, that mattered, rather than seeing the triumph of his new teammate: « It’s not hard for me to see Max on the podium. It’s just hard not to be there myself. »
