Opening lap crash with Albon is “part of [racing],” Ricciardo says

Daniel Ricciardo’s high-weighted run at Suzuka was cut short after an unfortunate Lap 1 racing incident saw his Japanese Grand Prix ending in the barriers, with the Australian saying accidents like his run-in with Alex Albon are just a “part of [racing]”.

Starting from P11 on the grid, Daniel Ricciardo’s dash off the line left him vulnerable to the fast starters behind.

Both he and his home hero teammate Yuki Tsunoda started the Japanese Grand Prix on the medium compound, losing out to the likes of Nico Hulkenberg and Valtteri Bottas who began the 53-lap race on the red-marked tyre.

“Myself and Yuki [Tsunoda] had a pretty poor getaway on the medium, and all of the cars behind on the soft just… got us quite easily,” Ricciardo said.

“We were just kind of scrabbling, obviously, for some grid.

“By Turn 2 it settled a little bit, but then I remember getting out of [Turn] 2 quite… still with a little bit of a lack of traction.”

As the field rounded Turn 1, Ricciardo found himself challenged by Pierre Gasly in the Alpine, losing out to the Frenchman as his focus shifted to the Aston Martin on his left. 

While monitoring Lance Stroll, Ricciardo failed to see the rapid Williams ambitiously charging down the outside of the entry to Turn 3.

Attempting to open the corner up, Ricciardo and Albon made slight contact, and with the Williams driver already dipping two wheels onto the grass, the duo were sent spinning into the barriers at Turn 3. 

Daniel Ricciardo and Alex Albon, Williams crash out on the opening lap of the Japanese GP. Image: Zak Mauger / LAT Images.

“I remember an Aston on my left so I was kind of watching that car, and then as I was starting to drift to open up [Turn] 3, I felt Alex [Albon].

“I saw his on-board and he just had so much better drive out of [Turn] 2.

“I don’t even know if he wanted to be there, but yeah, he could see me kind of going a little bit sideways.

“Everyone kind of got choked up and that was that.”

Both drivers were okay after their heavy shunts, with the cars sitting buried in the tyre barriers in the opening sector. 

“Unfortunately, a short Sunday,” Ricciardo said, speaking to the media whilst his teammate charged to a points finish in his, and Honda’s, home race.

Ricciardo’s performance in 2024 has come under heavy scrutiny from the public, as well as internally, with Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko making it clear that if the Australian isn’t to improve soon, he will be replaced.

“A Lap 1 incident is definitely the worst thing as a driver,” the #3 said.

“After yesterday, we were feeling alright last night and excited for a good day today.

“It kind of all fell away straight away, obviously on the start and then the incident so, yeah, there’s like this massive build-up and then you feel like I’ve now got all this energy that I now don’t know what to do with.”

Daniel Ricciardo heading to the garage during the Japanese GP. Image: Mark Sutton / Sutton Images.

The Australian took a mature approach when looking back at the moment, calling upon his years of experience to put the incident into perspective.

“It’s obviously racing, it happens every now and then which is part of it.

“I think, yeah, just trying to watch Yuki’s race, see what we can learn from that.”

Tsunoda secured the final points position in front of his home crowd, crediting the hard work of his team during the pitstops which allowed him to finish ahead of his competitors. 

RB now has a total of 7 points in the Constructors’ Standings, with Tsunoda the sole points scorer for the Faenza-based team. 

It won’t be Ricciardo’s last time running around the iconic Suzuka circuit before the grid heads to China, however, with the #3 confirming that he’ll be testing the RB at the track on Tuesday, getting “the laps back that [he] lost today”.

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