The V-CARB pair of Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda were entangled in an eventful race, right on the cusp of points at the season-opening 2024 Bahrain GP. While Ricciardo started the race from P14 on the grid, Tsunoda started from 11th. However, after the second round of pit stops, the duo found themselves in 14th and 13th, respectively.
Ricciardo and Tsunoda were on split strategies towards the end of the race as the latter was on hards and the former was on softs. The Honey Badger was closing in on the trio of Tsunoda, Kevin Magnussen, and Guanyu Zhou when the pit wall at V-CARB made a call. Since the team ordered a driver swap, Tsunoda went ballistic.
Unseen by #F1‘s TV feed, the RB drivers almost collided on the #BahrainGP cooldown lap.
Tsunoda, frustrated by the late-race team order, dived down the inside of Ricciardo at Turn 8 and the two almost collided on the exit. pic.twitter.com/Hy9OIB2w1M
— The Race (@wearetherace) March 2, 2024
Fighting Magnussen for P12, Tsunoda first refused to let Ricciardo by. However, he eventually complied but expressed his disappointment on the team radio. In the final few laps of the race, Ricciardo was not able to pass Magnussen with his softs losing the edge.
That’s when Tsunoda came onto the team radio again to complain about Ricciardo being slow. Although Ricciardo couldn’t pass Magnussen, the team maintained the positions and the Australian ended up finishing ahead of Tsunoda.
Why are tensions likely to intensify between Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda?
The two V-CARB drivers are most likely going to fight for themselves this season. As things stand, both drivers are in contention for the 2025 Red Bull seat. Naturally, they are eager to outdo each other in a bid to impress the higher-ups at Red Bull to choose them as the senior team’s second driver.
However, it is pertinent to note that the second seat at Red Bull is not the only thing that concerns Ricciardo and Tsunoda. If Ricciardo does not manage to impress Red Bull, he might have to bid his F1 career a farewell altogether.
Lo unico bueno de la carrera de hoy, fue Yuki Tsunoda peleandose con su ingeniero despues que dejara pasar a Daniel Ricciardo por ordenes de equipo. pic.twitter.com/BtkYIO06W1
— Carlos Lamb (@CarlosLamb_) March 2, 2024
On the other hand, with Honda departing, Tsunoda needs to get in the good books of the team to avoid getting replaced by the likes of Liam Lawson. Since so much is on the line for both drivers, there is likely going to be a heated rivalry. Moreover, since the V-CARB 2024 car looks strong, the team will also have high expectations from both of their drivers.
