“It was similar”: Daniel Ricciardo rules out track conditions behind disappointing Singapore qualifying

Daniel Ricciardo has ruled out track conditions as a factor in his disappointing qualifying result ahead of the 2024 Singapore GP. Speaking to media, including Sportskeeda, the Visa Cashapp RB F1 driver expressed frustration after being knocked out in Q1. Ricciardo will start 16th on the grid, adding to the weekend’s focus on speculation about his future.

Despite showing promise on Friday and in FP3, the Australian struggled with the soft tires in qualifying. He found the drop in pace puzzling. The 34-year-old noted that track conditions were similar to Friday, but the tire performance fell off unexpectedly. He had anticipated both RB cars would finish inside the top 10.

Asked by Sportskeeda if track conditions had changed from Friday to Saturday and played a part in the result, Daniel Ricciardo said:

“Yeah, honestly it was similar, that's the thing. See the track ramps up a little bit but there's nothing to say. That's why I don't really think we can say, 'oh this is why we didn't have the pace today.' Obviously what Yuki did is what we all felt both cars could do. So yeah, not sure but the conditions seemed similar. It rained a lot overnight. But the track still felt pretty good this morning, so not sure.”

Further explaining his disappointing qualifying session, Daniel Ricciardo added:

“Today I don't know, we didn't really change much, obviously we were in a good place yesterday. We were pretty upbeat about it and we weren't chasing our tail and then the medium this morning was good. I felt like we started off on the same foot as yesterday but then I put the soft on and I was nowhere. So we did a bit of fine tuning for qualifying and we thought would be okay. But again, I just didn't feel comfortable on the soft. It was, I would say, miserable because we were somewhere yesterday genuinely and it wasn't like any big mistakes or anything. But I knew when I crossed the line, I was like, 'that wasn't quick.'”

---

Daniel Ricciardo suggests Q1 knockout could have similar reason to soft tire issue that hurt drivers in Miami

Daniel Ricciardo said that the soft tire performance in Singapore's qualifying could mirror the unpredictability seen in Miami. He pointed out that like George Russell and Sergio Perez, many drivers have noted the tires tend to behave erratically in warmer conditions. The former Red Bull Racing driver stated it was tough to gauge tire life during the session, struggling for pace across all three sets of soft tires he used.

Asked if he suffered from similar tire issues other drivers were complaining about in the qualifying session, Daniel Ricciardo said:

“I think they're definitely a bit more fragile in the hotter, hotter climates. I remember Miami was a similar story for a few of us. We were a bit puzzled. If FP3 was qualifying, then I would have said something more like that soft was s*** because it didn't bite, didn't lock in kind of thing. But the fact that I struggled on all three today, all three softs that I used, maybe there's something else. But you don't really get a read. Pierre asked me after the run, he goes, 'could you tell on the out lap, that it was maybe not ready for turn one or anything?' I said no. So yeah, try and figure it out, but Q1 sucks specially when you don't expect to be there, like some races we expect to be here. But after yesterday, didn’t think this would even be possible with a s*** lap.”

Starting 16th on the grid at a circuit where qualifying is crucial, Sunday's race could play a pivotal role in shaping Daniel Ricciardo's future. While speculation swirls that Singapore might be his final race, Red Bull has clarified that no decisions will be made until after the weekend. Speaking to media, including Sportskeeda, Ricciardo shared that discussions about his future are focused more on the 2025 season rather than the current one. He is currently 10 points behind his teammate Yuki Tsunoda, with RB sitting sixth in the standings.