Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images
VCARB got their Hungarian Grand Prix off to a solid start Friday
If you feel a bit of whiplash keeping up with the ongoing speculation regarding Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo, you are not alone.
A few weeks ago Ricciardo faced an uncertain future, with Red Bull senior advisor Dr. Helmut Marko hinting that Ricciardo could be out of a seat at the end of the season, if not sooner. But those reports did a complete reversal recently when struggles from Sergio Pérez opened the door to the idea that instead of losing a seat at Visa Cash App RB F1 Team, Ricciardo would return to the one he once held at Red Bull.
In the interim all Ricciardo can do is drive, and try to put in solid performances each time out for VCARB. He did just that Friday at the Hungarian Grand Prix with two solid practice sessions. Ricciardo posted the 12th-fastest time in FP1 Friday and improved to eighth during FP2.
In all, the VCARB driver is “happy” with how the day went.
“I’m very happy with where we ended today in terms of feeling of the car, balance, and obviously classification,” said Ricciardo in the team’s post-practice media report. “I’m much happier now after FP2 compared to where we were this morning following FP1 as I felt we had a bit of work to do after that session. FP2 was solid and we’re in the fight; I was pretty happy and comfortable with the car with both low and high fuel.”
However, things were a bit trickier on the other side of the garage for Yuki Tsunoda. While Tsunoda was eighth fastest in FP1, a suspension issue at the start of FP2 — combined with a red flag brought out by Charles Leclerc — impacted his session as he placed 19th.
“Generally, it was a good day for us as a team and started well in FP1. The disrupted FP2 on track and issues on my car meant our run plan slightly changed in the afternoon, and while everyone was doing their long run I struggled to have a clean lap,” said Tsunoda. “Overall, the team showed some strong performance, like in the first races, so the energy is positive.”
VCARB Racing Director Alan Permane described Friday as a “half-good” day for the team.
“It was a half-good day for our team. Unfortunately, Yuki’s car had a problem with the front suspension setup in FP2. We figured out what the problem was, but we couldn’t fix it in time, so he really didn’t have any sort of FP2 this afternoon,” said Permane. “On the other side of the garage, Daniel was very happy with his car. It looks quick and competitive, and we know that’s where Yuki should and will be tomorrow. Overall, it’s been a slightly frustrating but mainly promising day.”
Still, to paraphrase Allen Iverson we are just talking about practice, and as happy as Ricciardo is, he knows there is more work to be done.
And that Saturday is a new day at the Hungaroring.
“It’s just practice but it was one of those good Fridays,” said Ricciardo. “Tomorrow is a new day, we’ll make some finetunes tonight and keep it rolling.”
