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Daniel Ricciardo claimed that the Canadian GP penalty was confusing and suspected a potential car issue made his car move during the start. Speaking to onsite media, the RB driver felt that the race was a redemption despite the mistakes and penalty.
Daniel Ricciardo was quickest throughout the weekend and qualified fifth on the grid but dropped two places to Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso in the opening laps. He was slapped with a five-second penalty for a false start during the race.
The FIA stewards explained that the Australian’s car moved after the four-second light had illuminated and before the start signal was given. Reflecting on the incident, the 34-year-old felt a potential clutch issue caused his car to move because, in theory, he didn’t have a great start.
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After pitting under the safety car and serving his five-second penalty, Daniel Ricciardo dropped down the order to 12th and had to fight his way back into the points. Finishing eighth, he secured four points for his team and secured his first points finish in a Grand Prix in 2024.
Asked if the penalty for a false start was confusing, Daniel Ricciardo said:
“Yeah, it was, I mean, I felt like the race was getting away from us. Yeah, the start itself, we were drift city. So yeah, lost a couple of positions there. Well, I'd say to start also just kind of around turn two, I remember Lewis just literally breezing by me and I was Tokyo-ing it. So yeah lost a bit there and then yeah I got told we had a penalty. I was quite confused because I knew I didn't jump the lights. But I recall, maybe the car was creeping when I was looking at the lights. So I guess we had probably a clutch issue would be my guess.”
“So had that and then I think when the rain was coming we pitted for a new inter and the others stayed out and we just lost track position there. I feel like the race was kind of getting away from us. But then with the slick at the end, we managed to kind of claw our way back, passed some cars and get fortunately a nice little bag of points. So all in all happy, these races it's hard to be perfect. I made mistakes, obviously we were yeah just trying to survive at times so happy we got there in the end,” he added.
Asked if the clean race weekend result gave him momentum for the upcoming races, Daniel Ricciardo replied:
“It's, I mean, it's a good one, you know, because we, it's the first weekend I've gone, well start to finish. Obviously Miami, half of it was really good and the other half not. So it's nice just to be competitive from Friday through to Sunday and you know, a race like this, it's so hard, you know, mentally everything, it's like, it is draining. So, you know, you can't expect to do a perfect race when it's like this. But I felt like you know in all these conditions we managed to still pull out a result.”
“So with a few challenges along the way. So yeah I'm happy just got to keep it rolling and I think you know that little energy, probably a little bit of a chip on my shoulder I brought into the weekend I got to make sure that that stays there. And just kind of keep that level of intensity. And yeah sometimes being a little bit maybe, I don't know if it's I need to be a bit angry or just get my testosterone up but I think it helps me.”
Daniel Ricciardo credits Canadian GP result to a fresh approach and change in mindset
Daniel Ricciardo believes the 'self therapy' after the Monaco GP led to a better race weekend in Canada. Speaking to the media after qualifying, Ricciardo claimed he had reflected on changing his approach going into the weekend and cutting out activities and routines that depleted his energy levels.
The 34-year-old claimed he had a sit-down with his team where they discussed what could be changed and improved at both ends. Ricciardo felt there was hope to improve and the weekend was much smoother as a result of the changes made to his approach.
Daniel Ricciardo reckoned one of the key reasons for his weekend being smoother in Canada rather than Monaco was the renewed energy levels. The Perth-born driver felt the need to keep sponsors happy was peripheral marketing responsibility on a race weekend and could be replaced by race preparation or engineering.
Asked if there was any potential or hope after making changes to his mindset and routine, Daniel Ricciardo said:
“There is certainly some hope that it is obviously, I got to repeat it and back it up to show that or prove it. But yeah, I definitely am happy with some things as I probably mentioned yesterday. I acknowledge since Monaco and I really do feel that it's no coincidence that this weekend went a bit smoother. So it's just making sure that we keep on that, keep tapping into it and make sure that I'm yeah holding myself accountable, not getting too relaxed and happy-go-lucky, making sure I keep that edge about me.”
Asked if there was less pressure with lesser sponsorship activities or PR, Daniel Ricciardo said:
“Yeah, we've certainly tried to alter a few things. And I think, of course, the sponsors that are helping us race and pay the bills, of course we gotta give them time. But it's probably the little five minute ones here and the five minutes there that maybe we don't need to be doing. Just sometimes it's random stuff. You know, it's not even that I should be sitting in my room staring at the ceiling. You know that time could be with the engineers and everyone's mind can be put at ease, that we've done our homework and we're prepared to jump in the car. So it's just all these little one percenters, which again I think it just helps everyone's mindset then when we get into the session we feel like we're you know ready to go.”
Without a points finish in eight races this season, Daniel Ricciardo needed a clean weekend like the Canadian GP to silence his critics. It is his first points finish in a Grand Prix since the Mexico GP last year. He outperformed teammate Yuki Tsunoda by forcing him to make an error, which resulted in him spinning off the track. The duo were running ninth and tenth respectively when the former Red Bull Racing driver was close.
Daniel Ricciardo also managed to outperform Sergio Perez, who was trailing him and retired from the race after crashing into the barriers. The Aussie has currently scored nine points in total and needs a further ten points to equal his teammate’s tally. RB are sixth in the championship with a total of 28 points and have managed to pull out a comfortable lead on their midfield rivals.
