‘What the hell’s going on?’ Ricciardo opens up on teammate talks after spiteful clash

Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda declared the intra-team drama from the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix has been put to bed.

Daniel Ricciardo of Australia and Visa Cash App RB prepares to drive in the garage during the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 02, 2024 in Bahrain, Bahrain. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda believe the intra-team drama from the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix has been appropriately addressed as RB takes to Saudi Arabia for the second race of the year.

Tsunoda blew up after team orders were enforced to allow Ricciardo – with a tyre advantage – to overtake him late in the Bahrain race. On the cooldown lap, Tsunoda made an aggressive pass on the Australian, with Ricciardo labelling the Japanese youngster a “f***ing helmet” for the near-miss.

Now the pair have moved to cool the simmering tension, with Ricciardo claiming clear-the-air talks have put the team in an even better position than before the race.

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Daniel Ricciardo has put the issue to bed. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

“Drivers never like team orders,” Ricciardo said.

“So maybe a driver doesn’t react straight away. Like, It’s not the first time that’s ever happened. So I think that was all pretty clear.

“It was important for us to talk about that, but then also the in-lap, just to be clear that, even if it’s heat of the moment, these things can have bigger consequences.

“So we talked, personally, privately, doors closed, very openly, transparently. We left Saturday night feeling like it’s done.”

With team radio broadcast across the world, Ricciardo says he tried to restrain himself after Tsunoda’s risky move on the in-lap.

“And that’s why, obviously, I came on the radio and I was like, alright, what the hell’s going on here,” Ricciardo said.

“I said a few things, but I tried to also stop myself because I know everything gets broadcast – and I knew it was something we would discuss once the helmet’s off and maybe the heart rate comes down a little.”

Yuki Tsunoda of Japan and Visa Cash App RB looks on in the Paddock. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

It was the first flashpoint between the two drivers since Ricciardo joined the 23-year-old talent at RB (then AlphaTauri) midway through last season. But he praised his teammate for being willing to have a frank discussion about the incident.

“Last year, we only had a few races, but I think it was all pretty smooth,” Ricciardo said.

“Obviously, there was that little thing on the weekend.

“If we didn’t address it and kind of stomped off and left the track and whatever, then okay, you’d say ‘alright, this is an issue’.

“I think we were both very willing to sit in a room together and just talk through it. I think that was important.”

Now 34, the Australian believes he’s more level-headed than in his earlier years in Formula 1. With points expected to be hard to come by for RB in a packed midfield battle this campaign, he knows how important it is to ensure the team is not distracted by a driver battle.

Daniel Ricciardo of Australia and Visa Cash App RB prepares to drive on the grid during the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

But he claimed the way the pair addressed the battle ‘put the team in a better place’ than before the race.

“I just honestly think, where I’m at in probably my career and probably just my age – okay, yeah, I still do some immature things and whatever, I’m still not fully an adult sometimes – but I think in those situations I very much understood that no one’s going to benefit from us having a rivalry or attention or anything like this from Race 1 of a long season,” Ricciardo continued.

“Especially when the team has new personnel. Everyone’s trying to pick each other up and kind of build themselves and the confidence. We need to help them do that as well.

“What happened at the end of the race, yes, it wasn’t great, but actually then two hours later, how we walked out of that meeting, I think actually put the team in a better place than it was even on Saturday morning.”

Tsunoda, meanwhile, admitted he got “a bit heated” during the battle.

He said: “We talked about it after the race with the team. We’re still unified and we’re on the same page now. We understand each other.”

He added he was ‘frustrated’ by the team orders at the time, saying: “At that moment, yes.

“But I understand what they’re saying. Obviously it was not an easy race in the end.

“In the moment, I was a bit heated. I was getting quite heating moments in my brain.

“But I still, in the end, let him through, probably a lap later or half a lap later.

“In the end, the team thought they had more chance [of scoring points with Daniel] and I respect that.”

He added he would find it easier to handle team orders should they be implemented in Saudi Arabia this weekend: “Yeah, 100 per cent.”

Originally published as ‘What the hell’s going on?’ Ricciardo opens up on teammate talks after spiteful clash