Ricciardo – Tsunoda, high tensions at the finish of the Bahrain GP

The scene could have gone unnoticed on television – since it was not broadcast live – but the Internet doesn't miss a thing and in today's “all-accessible” age, the video quickly made the rounds on social networks. In the deceleration lap after passing the checkered flag, Yuki tsunoda (14th) almost hit his teammate twice Daniel Ricciardo (13th), in turn 8.

🗣 “I'm being very sensitive right now – let's call it immaturity”

Daniel reflects on what happened after the checked flag with Yuki #F1 # Formula1 #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/BCowPjlYCT

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 3, 2024

An intimidation maneuver, a sign of the Japanese driver's great frustration at the finish of the Bahrain GP. The latter received a team instruction from RB: in the last laps, the Italian team asked him to let his teammate, then on soft tires, pass to try to overtake Kevin Magnussen behind him.

Ricciardo: “It’s something we talk about before the race”

If Daniel Ricciardo also failed to overtake the Dane, the Australian did not give up the place to Yuki Tsunoda at the finish. From the perspective of a tub at Red Bull in 2025, where the two drivers are two logical contenders, each position counts... Asked about this incident between the two RB drivers after the race, Daniel Ricciardo seemed taken aback by his teammate's maneuver.

" I don't know. I was trying to stay cool on the radio. A little immaturity? I'm very reasonable right now, but let's call it immaturity, declared the eight-time Grand Prix winner at the F1 microphone. Yuki is obviously frustrated with the team's orders, but let's be real, this is something we talk about before the race. It was very likely that I would use the soft tires at the end of the race, so he knew there was a chance that I would have a pace advantage at the end, and if he gets a radio call, it This is going to happen. [Yuki] isn't giving me points either, because we're fighting for 13th place, but let's at least give ourselves the best chance to have at least one car in the points. »

“I think we had a better chance, for sure, added the Australian. In the end, we weren't good enough to score points today. Maybe we could have reached Kevin [Magnussen] and gotten closer to Zhou, but it wouldn't have changed much. Things are what they are. It's a long season, we have to make sure we're all good, so we're going to go in, have a meeting, be very mature about it and look forward to Jeddah. »

For his part, Yuki Tsunoda, visibly frustrated by the situation, preferred not to dwell on the subject. “I don’t even want to talk about it to be honest. We were fighting outside the points anyway, for 13th and 14th, and I was passing Magnussen, I was side by side, and then we swapped positions in the last few laps. To be honest, I don't understand, confided the Japanese. We need to revisit the situation... In the end, [Daniel] didn't even get past him, so... whatever. » Atmosphere at RB.

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