Daniel Ricciardo approaches a finish line he doesn’t want to see. PETER COSTER reports on the fallout from the Japanese Grand Prix.
He is so close, but so far away. Daniel Ricciardo has failed to out qualify or outrace his Visa Red Bull teammate Yuki Tsunoda for the fourth race of the season, this time at the Japanese Grand Prix.
The Japanese driver at his home race made it into the top 10 on the grid before finishing 10th in the race and picking up a valuable championship point.
Ricciardo was 11th having failed to make third qualy. In the race it was all over for the Honey Badger by the third corner on the first lap.
The DNF came after he passed a slow-starting Tsunoda but crashed out heavily when he avoided a car on the left but hit another as it tried to pass on the right.
Riccardo climbed out of the wreck, a disconsolate figure as the race was red flagged and drivers went back for a restart as the barriers were repaired.
Up to then it was Ricciardo’s best performance in four races.
The former Perth driver, who was once among the top five drivers on the grid, failed to beat Tsunoda into the starting top 10 by a mere five hundredths of a second.
He beat clearly Tsunoda off the line although some blamed him for the crash with Williams driver Alex Albon.
At least the stewards saw it differently. They took no action for what was seen as a “racing incident.”
But Japan will be seen as another failure to match his teammate in what may be the final year of Ricciardo’s F1 career.
His slide from the front of the F1 grid started with an ill-advised decision to resign from Red Bull in 2018, being ill-advised in that Ricciardo took his own advice.
Sulking is the best way to explain it. The Honey Badger knew the Red Bull team was being built around now triple-world champion Max Verstappen.
In spite of throwing what might be described as a hissy fit Ricciardo was guaranteed the same salary as Verstappen by Red Bull boss Christian Horner, who now faces his own problems after allegations of “inappropriate behaviour” by his female PA, which he vehemently denies.
It has been a long six years since Ricciardo moved from Red Bull to Renault and then McLaren, where he was humiliated by the performances of teammate Lando Norris.
He was given what might have been a sympathetic wave by the young superstar as he lapped Ricciardo at Monaco and further humiliations were to follow.
Ricciardo was sacked from McLaren to be replaced by Melbourne F2 and F3 champion Oscar Piastri.
Still, he retained the support of Horner who welcomed him back as Red Bull’s reserve driver.
That grew into a seat at AlphaTauri after a Red Bull test at Silverstone that would have put him near the front of the grid for the British Grand Prix.
Dutch driver Nick Vries was sacked to make way for Ricciardo at the renamed Visa RB team but the Australian crashed at the Dutch Grand Prix last year in avoiding running into Piastri’s McLaren.
Ricciardo then missed several races with a broken hand while his car was driven by Liam Lawson. The emerging New Zealand driver makes no secret of his desire to replace Ricciardo and can be seen standing on the pit wall watching his latest mishaps.
But back to Suzuka in Japan where the race was won by Max Verstappen in a one-two finish with teammate Sergio Perez.
If Ricciardo had been dominating Tsunoda at Visa RB, it have been enough to tip Perez out of his seat when his contract runs out at the end of this season.
Perez was only a few hundredths behind pole sitter Verstappen in qualifying, although some 12 seconds adrift in the race.
The Mexican has finished second to Verstappen in three of four races this year after a disastrous season last year.
Are Ricciardo’s fortunes likely to turn around just as dramatically is a question still to be answered.
Probably not.
Ricciardo is a fan favourite but after Sunday’s race the toothy grin was gone and with it a loss of confidence.
At 34, there are still seasons to come if you compare Ricciardo with Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. The 42-year-old Alonso finished sixth on Sunday and 39-year-old Hamilton ninth.
The seven-times world champion’s difficulties with an underperforming Mercedes have seen him sign for Ferrari next year.
Alonso is showing all the race craft you would expect from a double-world champion and may yet fill Hamilton’s seat or replace Carlos Sainz who has had to make way for Hamilton at Ferrari.
Alonso’s guile was on display over the last laps in Japan where he let Piastri run up behind him.
The McLaren driver was able to open his rear wing under DRS, which allowed him to keep ahead of the fast-finishing George Russell.
Passing two cars rather than one kept the Mercedes driver from catching Alonso but being too smart can have its consequences.
Such as at the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park where Alonso suddenly slowed on the penultimate lap, which resulted in the Mercedes driver crashing into the barriers and left hanging in the car on its side.
Russell was screaming for a red flag to stop cars crashing into him on a blind corner, a corner F1 drivers want changed by next year.
The Spaniard was given 20 seconds penalty points and three demerit points on his super licence for the move against Russell in Melbourne.
He made a joke of it after the Japan race, saying the FIA might disqualify him from the championship for helping Piastri stay ahead, which didn’t stop Russell passing Piastri when it was too late to stop him passing Alonso.
Russell and Piastri said they knew what Alonso was up to and it worked.
Russell will be wondering what further tricks Alonso might have up his sleeve at the Chinese Grand Prix in two weeks hence.
It’s called getting into your rival’s head, but it’s a dangerous game.
Grand Prix of Japan results
7th April 2024 – Suzuka
| CLA | DRIVER | TIME | Interval |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | M. Verstappen (RED BULL RACING) | 1:54’23.566 | |
| 2 | S. Perez (RED BULL RACING) | 1:54’36.101 | 12.535 |
| 3 | C. Sainz (FERRARI) | 1:54’44.432 | 20.866 |
| 4 | C. Leclerc (FERRARI) | 1:54’50.088 | 26.522 |
| 5 | L. Norris (MCLAREN) | 1:54’53.266 | 29.7 |
| 6 | F. Alonso (ASTON MARTIN RACING) | 1:55’07.838 | 44.272 |
| 7 | G. Russell (MERCEDES) | 1:55’09.517 | 45.951 |
| 8 | O. Piastri (MCLAREN) | 1:55’11.091 | 47.525 |
| 9 | L. Hamilton (MERCEDES) | 1:55’12.192 | 48.626 |
| 10 | Y. Tsunoda (RB) | 1:54’25.168 | +1 Lap |
| 11 | N. Hulkenberg (HAAS F1 TEAM) | 1:54’30.734 | +1 Lap |
| 12 | L. Stroll (ASTON MARTIN RACING) | 1:54’34.799 | +1 Lap |
| 13 | K. Magnussen (HAAS F1 TEAM) | 1:54’41.485 | +1 Lap |
| 14 | V. Bottas (SAUBER) | 1:54’42.459 | +1 Lap |
| 15 | E. Ocon (ALPINE) | 1:55’04.718 | +1 Lap |
| 16 | P. Gasly (ALPINE) | 1:55’18.632 | +1 Lap |
| 17 | L. Sargeant (WILLIAMS) | 1:55’36.331 | +1 Lap |
| dnf | Z. Guanyu (SAUBER) | 49’29.022 | +41 Laps |
| dnf | D. Ricciardo (RB) | ||
| dnf | A. Albon (WILLIAMS) |
PETER COSTER is a former editor and foreign correspondent who has covered a range of international sports, including world championship fights and the Olympic Games.
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