Daniel Ricciardo seethes at teammate after Bahrain Grand Prix act

Daniel Ricciardo has been left absolutely fuming after an extraordinary incident at the Bahrain Brand Prix on Sunday.

Yuki Tsunoda was very naughty. Photo: Reddit.

Daniel Ricciardo was left absolutely fuming after an extraordinary dive bomb from teammate Yuki Tsunoda at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The Visa Cash App RB drivers were involved in the spiciest battle of Sunday morning’s race as reigning world champion Max Verstappen blew everyone away.

Every practice, qualifying session and race from the 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship™ LIVE. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial Today >

The Red Bull development team was among the biggest disappointments of the season opening race, finishing 13th and 14th with Ricciardo unable to get past Kevin Magnussen on the final lap of the race.

The Visa Cash App garage has been torn in two after the wild end to the race with Yuki Tsunoda left angry about a team order for him to let Ricciardo through.

Tsunoda qualified 11th — ahead of Ricciardo in P14 — and led his teammate for most of the race until the final stages when the Aussie had been put on a new set of soft tyres.

With Ricciardo running quicker on the faster tyre, the team’s race engineers ordered Tsunoda to let his teammate past.

“Are you kidding me? Now?” Tsunoda said on the team radio.

Tsunoda simply ignored the order for multiple laps before eventually letting Ricciardo past.

Tsunoda himself had been just 0.5 seconds behind Magnussen when he let Ricciardo through on lap 52 of 57.

Yuki Tsunoda was very naughty. Photo: Reddit.

Yuki Tsunoda nearly swiped his teammate. Photo: Reddit.

“Yeah, I don’t need to say anything,” Ricciardo said on team radio as he waited for Tsunoda to finally let him through.

Ricciardo was unable to find a way past Magnussen — making Tsunoda even more angry.

“He’s not fast at all,” Tsunoda said of his teammate.

Later on, Tsunoda sarcastically said: “Thanks guys, I appreciate it”.

It was a total disaster for the team with Tsunoda’s delay ultimately robbing Ricciardo of his best chance to jump Magnussen with his tyres at their quickest level and rapidly losing tread.

The Japanese driver completely lost it during the cool down lap.

Tsunoda inexplicably dive-bombed Ricciardo by torpedoing on the inside of a turn before locking up his brakes as he missed the apex entirely.

When Tsunoda raced back into position on the track he very nearly swiped the side of Ricciardo’s car.

“What the f***!” Ricciardo radioed. “I’ll save it. He’s a f***ing helmet.”

🚨 Momen ketika Tsunoda nyaris saja menyenggol Ricciardo saat cooldown lap usai finis.

Tsunoda terlihat lumayan kesal karena team order yang diberikan tim... pic.twitter.com/WFQqem7Kn5

— F1 Speed Indonesia (@f1speed_indo) March 2, 2024

Ricciardo was unable to speak after the race, gagging himself from saying anything that would have poured fuel on the fire.

“I don’t know. That was... I came on the radio and I was trying to stay cool. But... I’m being really sensible now, so let’s call it immaturity,” he said of his teammate’s behaviour.

“He’s obviously frustrated with the team orders call. But let’s be real, this is something that we talk about before the race.

“It was very likely I was going to use the softs at the end of the race, so he knew that there was a chance that I’d have a pace advantage at the end.

Daniel Ricciardo in Bahrain. Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images.

“That’s the call and it’s going to happen. So we’re also not giving me points. We’re fighting for thirteenth. At least give us the best chance to get at least one car in points.”

British racing driver Alice Powell said on BBC Radio she understood why Tsunoda wasn’t happy.

“That kind of response from Yuki I kind of agree with him,” she said.

“Why now, why so early on in the season? Yuki Tsunoda is half a second behind the Haas of Kevin Magnussen in front, they are going to be lapped by Max Verstappen, I am not sure why they are looking to swap them round.”

It’s no secret the pair are jostling for the chance to be promoted to the senior Red Bull team for the 2025 season.

Sergio Perez is under incredible pressure to hold his seat, but showed promise in Bahrain.

Perez helped Red Bull to a 1-2 finish despite finishing more than 22 seconds behind his teammate.

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix takes place in Jeddah next Saturday, March 9.

Bahrain Grand Prix finishing order

1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull

2) Sergio Perez, Red Bull

3) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari

4) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

5) George Russell, Mercedes

6) Lando Norris, McLaren

7) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

8) Oscar Piastri, McLaren

9) Fernando Alonso, Aston

10) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin

Originally published as Daniel Ricciardo seethes at teammate after Bahrain Grand Prix act