Ricciardo and Tsunoda left searching for answers over RB’s major update package after Spain struggles

Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda had high hopes heading into the Spanish Grand Prix amid a raft of updates to their RB machines, but rather than spearheading the midfield charge, the pair spent the weekend struggling at the back of the pack.

RB rolled out changes to the floor body, sidepods, engine cover, rear wing and beam wing on the VCARB 01 – amongst other tweaks – at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, in one of the biggest packages seen so far this season.

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However, after several Q3 appearances and points finishes that contributed to them holding sixth in the constructors’ standings, the Faenza team lost both cars in the first qualifying phase and failed to score a point last time out.

Ricciardo, who took the chequered flag in 15th position, four spots ahead of team mate Tsunoda, admitted that RB “didn’t have anything more to show” over the weekend – having been “missing something” from the new package.

“It’s honestly a tough one,” the Australian reflected. “There’s a few corners where I feel like it’s not really giving us a little bit extra that we’re looking for. There are some places which are a little bit more clear.

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“But if I go back to quali the car felt balanced, I think we got it in a much better place compared to Friday. Probably now we’re just lacking overall load, and this is a pretty high-speed circuit, a lot of fast corners, and I guess that may be where we’re currently a little bit weak.”

Having made Q3 on seven occasions and scored points five times so far in 2024, Tsunoda echoed Ricciardo’s comments as he pointed to some head-scratching before returning to the track this weekend at the Red Bull Ring.

“Yeah, I don’t know what happened there,” he explained post-race in Spain. “It didn’t feel like normal behaviour [from the car] throughout the race.

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“[It was] just a struggle to drive and the pace was nowhere. I don’t know what’s happened there to be honest. We’ll analyse it and hopefully we can come back strong.”

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