Disappointed Ricciardo Believes He Deserved Better than 13th After Unsuccessful Qualifying Gamble

Ricciardo’s Risk in Belgian GP Qualifying Doesn’t Pay Off

Daniel Ricciardo faced disappointment after a qualifying gamble for the Belgian Grand Prix did not work out.

The Australian driver will start Sunday’s race from 13th on the grid after being eliminated in Qualifying 2 at Spa-Francorchamps.

Unpredictable weather during the qualifying hour made it challenging for teams to time their runs correctly. Red Bull gambled on worsening rain later in Qualifying 2, leading to Ricciardo remaining in the garage as the session concluded, which resulted in his elimination. Until that point, the 35-year-old had shown promising speed, consistently ranking within the top 10.

“I felt really good, and maybe for that reason I probably haven’t yet absorbed that we start 13th,” Ricciardo said. “I feel a lot better than 13th. I felt like every time we crossed the line, we were inside the top 10; at times I heard P3, P4, so we were competitive.”

Ricciardo’s performance was notable despite a final practice session where he completed just five laps due to a red flag after only 12 minutes of running.

“I didn’t actually get a proper run this morning, so coming into qualifying I didn’t really know where we’d be in these conditions,” Ricciardo said. “Fair to say I didn’t think would probably be as competitive as we were. I was like, ‘Alright, we got something and let’s go and get it.’”

However, with the changing weather, Red Bull misjudged the situation, and Ricciardo was in the garage as track conditions improved at the end of Qualifying 2.

“We decided to go a bit earlier in case the rain got heavier,” Ricciardo explained. “I was able just to improve a tenth or something and in the end, the track didn’t get worse. Running at the end was the place to be and by that point we were back in the garage.

“I don’t even want to say we got it wrong; we just didn’t get it right. It wasn’t a call that I was upset with, it made sense and if it just rained a bit heavier, we look like the smart guys. So for that, of course, we’re all a little bit disappointed but it wasn’t a call that we’re all kicking ourselves over, it’s just the one we made and wasn’t the [right] one. We still only missed out by a couple of tenths, so wasn’t much, but I’m disappointed because I felt we really had a decent car.”

Ahead of Ricciardo are all eight cars from the top four teams, along with Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin, both Alpines, and Alex Albon’s Williams.

This mix offers some opportunities for points in the race, given Ricciardo’s good long-run pace observed on Friday.

“We definitely had to play around a bit yesterday to figure out what was best,” Ricciardo said about his car balance for the race. “FP1 we were not in the right place. I think we got closer in FP2. Now with the track resetting, tomorrow is a little bit of a, probably not quite say lottery, but there’s still some unknowns.

“I would say maybe it’s more a two-stop race than a one-stop, the way the tyres were graining and stuff yesterday, and the track hasn’t gripped up. Hopefully, that means it’s an exciting two-stop, dry race.”

While Ricciardo will start 13th, his teammate Yuki Tsunoda will begin last after taking on new power unit elements earlier in the weekend.

The Belgian Grand Prix is set to begin at 15:00 local time on Sunday (23:00 AEST).