Visa Cash App RB’s first race in F1 ended on a sour note after an incident between its drivers. Yuki Tsunoda invited immense criticism for his actions after aggressively overtaking Daniel Ricciardo during the cooldown lap in Bahrain. The Japanese driver wasn’t too happy with his team’s instructions to let Ricciardo pass and let his feelings known. Tsunoda resorted to sarcasm after V-CARB’s orders, as quoted in a recent report by The Race.
Once he let Ricciardo past him, Tsunoda sarcastically thanked his team and said he appreciated the plan. Furthermore, he kept commenting on Ricciardo’s performance. Constant calls of “He’s not fast at all!” showed Tsunoda isn’t as mature a driver as one would want him to be. Things take a curious turn when one realizes Tsunoda’s reaction came while the fight between him and Ricciardo was for P13 and P14.
Daniel Ricciardo was furious with his teammate over his actions. During the cooldown lap, Tsunoda sped up to go past Ricciardo on the run-up to the Turn 8 hairpin. A lock-up forced Tsunoda to go wide, allowing Ricciardo through. However, Tsunoda wanted none of that and zoomed past Ricciardo’s car, narrowly avoiding a collision. An enraged Ricciardo said on the team radio, “What the f*ck? I’ll save it. He’s a f**king helmet.”
Se volvio loco Yuki Tsunoda al final de la carrera con Daniel Ricciardo, le tiro el carro xD pic.twitter.com/m9Fuw7pa4V
— Carlos Lamb (@CarlosLamb_) March 2, 2024
Speaking about the incident after the race, the Australian referred to Tsunoda’s actions by calling him immature. Ricciardo gave Tsunoda the benefit of the doubt for being frustrated after the race. But he added how they talk about these things before the race.
Hence, the move came as a shock to everyone. The move for Ricciardo to pass Tsunoda was called one lap before the #22 driver followed it. Nonetheless, the onus now falls on the V-CARB team management to ensure peace remains intact.
Yuki Tsunoda has his say on the cooldown lap antics
Crossing the finish line in P14, Yuki Tsunoda was far from happy with his team’s instructions. Speaking to the media after the race, the Japanese driver downplayed the incident between him and Ricciardo. The 23-year-old claimed he “wasn’t really close with Daniel [Ricciardo], to be honest.”
Meanwhile, footage from his in-car camera shows his car was only a few inches away from making contact with Ricciardo. Speaking about the team’s orders, Tsunoda vowed to seek answers as he did not know the reason behind the call.
| Yuki Tsunoda is not happy with the Team Orders VCARB which asked him to swap positions with Daniel Ricciardo.pic.twitter.com/jpM1wzJStR#F1 #BahrainGP
— Desi Racing Co. (@DesiRacingco) March 2, 2024
Per Tsunoda, Ricciardo was going to finish outside points anyway. Claiming he drove side by side with Kevin Magnussen on the main straight, Tsunoda asserted he was close to overtaking him. However, he got the order for a driver swap in the last few laps. Given the same, the Japanese driver claims he does not understand what the thoughts of his team were.
When put to him that Ricciardo was within the one-second DRS range when the call came, Tsunoda replied he, too, was within the same zone. Hence adding to the confusion for him. As such, the priority remains on talking things over and reaching a peaceful solution for the future.
