by VALERIO BARRETTA
RB, Ricciardo beats Tsunoda in China on Friday
For the first time this season on the flying lap, Daniel Ricciardo he got behind Yuki Tsunoda. In the China Sprint Qualifying, the Australian made the first cut, something the #22 failed to do, having been in great form over the last few weekends. Ricciardo can therefore be satisfied with the progress of the internal duel, but it is clear that 14th position on the grid cannot satisfy either him or the team, which is in clear difficulty today.
Ricciardo's words
“It's one of those days where P14 isn't a result to get excited about, but personally I think it was a better day than expected, because this morning we had an immediate good start and entered the Top 10. At the same time, we knew that some cars had only used one set of tires and that getting into Q3 would be complicated. But the sensations on the track were definitely better and this encouraged us“, commented the Australian.
“It's not a result to be particularly ecstatic about, but in our small way it was a positive day. Looking ahead to tomorrow, the Sprint is definitely another opportunity to fight a bit. It is a circuit that allows overtaking, we will have good opportunities. We'll have two chances to race this weekend and I'm looking forward to it”.
Tsunoda's words
“I've struggled with balance and grip in general since FP1. For Sprint Qualifying we also tried different things, but I wasn't able to put everything together. I don't know what's going on, but today certainly wasn't an easy day“, added Tsunoda, who will start second from last. “It's not the weather or track conditions' fault, I wasn't able to do more. I've never struggled so much before. It's strange, but we still have some sessions to do and we will continue to collect data. Tomorrow's qualifying is very important and we hope to be able to sort things out before then. We'll see how it goes”.
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