Daniel Ricciardo Details His Disappointment After Failing to Beat Yuki Tsunoda in the Qualifying Session in Japan

Credits: IMAGO / HochZwei

The struggles of Daniel Ricciardo continue to haunt him following a poor start to the 2024 season. Ricciardo’s poor outings have become somewhat of a mystery to his team, who continue to work on trying to find a solution for the same. Having not been able to outqualify his teammate in any of the opening three races, Ricciardo is now 0 for 4, after Yuki Tsunoda knocked him out in Q2 in Japan and his race had a worse story as he retired on Lap 1 after a collision with Alex Albon. Addressing the same, the Aussie detailed his dissatisfaction with the performance, as reported in an update on X by Junaid #JB17.

“The part that I was disappointed about [yesterday] was missing out by obviously a very small margin. I think in general it was a positive day, so looking ahead to the race.”, Ricciardo said.

Tsunoda has outdriven Ricciardo every step of the way this season. At the qualifying session in Japan, it looked like that might change, with the 34-year-old on the brink of making it to Q3 for the first time this season. However, Tsunoda improved his lap time in the dying embers of Q2 and sent Ricciardo packing. A difference of only 0.055 seconds led to Ricciardo not making it past Q2.

Ricciardo‘s struggles have also led to people recalling his days at McLaren. The 34-year-old consistently struggled with the car as Lando Norris outperformed him every weekend. It is a similar case this year with Tsunoda and him.

While Ricciardo hasn’t been able to finish above P12 thus far, Tsunoda has earned several points for Visa Cash App RB. The same was the story in Suzuka as the Japanese driver scored a point in P10, while the Honey Badger could not even get past Lap 1 after his crash with Alex Albon. There have also been certain incidents between the two drivers that indicate that all may not be well between the two drivers.

Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda treading deep waters?

Ever since Ricciardo took up driving duties in (formerly) AlphaTauri, he became the favorite to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull in 2025. Meanwhile, Tsunoda had to see himself sidelined from the conversation yet again.

Hence, he wanted to prove he, too, was a worthy contender. Things went from bad to worse for Tsunoda when he was asked to let Ricciardo pass in the opening race of the season.

Famous for his short temper, Tsunoda let his feelings known in the cooldown lap after the race. He rushed past Ricciardo’s car, inches away from a collision. Following the incident, the team held a conversation with the drivers alongside some of Red Bull’s top-ranked employees. Having sorted the issue, the belief was that things would be much better between the two drivers.

And it looks like things have taken a turn for the better between Tsunoda and Ricciardo. The Australian driver recently revealed that he and Tsunoda made a stop in Tokyo together. They even went to have some Wagyu before heading to Suzuka for the 4th race of the season. The update comes as happy information to all those working with V-CARB, as there is a chance of parity returning between the drivers.