“Happy” Ricciardo says RB is “in a good place” in Monza

Ending the first day at the Italian Grand Prix with a smile on his face, Daniel Ricciardo is “not yet complacent” with his top-ten time depite saying the team is “certainly not scratching our heads” in Monza.

Coming into the weekend without the upgrade package on his car, Ricciardo has given the neighbouring side of the RB garage something to think about overnight after outpacing his teammate in both practice sessions at the sizzling Autodromo Nazionale Monza.

Aside from the usual low-drag Monza wing, Yuki Tsunoda is running a new floor with hopes of increasing downforce and giving improved airflow to the downforce-producing surfaces downstream.

“Yeah, it was a good day,” Ricciardo said.

“I don’t know, it’s a cool track, obviously, I do really enjoy it, and yeah, some circuits you obviously just enjoy more than others — this is one.”

Watching on from the pitlane for the opening minutes of FP1, the 2021 Italian Grand Prix winner kicked off his Monza campaign on the medium compound tyre, testing out the resurfaced track that he has vocally been apprehensive about.

His uncertainties became reality when F2 rookie Kimi Antonelli lost the rear of his Mercedes at Parabolica, bringing a halt to the session after Ricciardo had promoted his VCARB 01 to tenth-fastest.

Rejoining the circuit and waving to the fans above, Ricciardo set off to better his time of 1:23.981s.

It wasn’t an easy task in the RB, however, with the Australian taking his time to move up the order.

When he successfully completed that task, Ricciardo sat in P7 with a time of 1:22.605s, with that lap remaining his quickest of the midday session.

Completing a practice start on the grid, Ricciardo ended FP1 one-tenth ahead of Yuki Tsunoda in P12 and P13, respectively.

“It was a little bit different as well, you know, the asphalt… we saw a couple big crashes,” Ricciardo said.

“It’s kind of… the grip is a little bit hard to find, it’s a little bit peaky so it’s kind of there but then it can catch you off guard, so glad those boys are ok.

“But yeah, it’s one of those ones, you know, it’s challenging but fun.

“Some of the chicanes, I don’t love the new kerbs and all that but anyway, it was still a good day.

“Good to be back out there on this track.”

Daniel Ricciardo in the Pitlane during first practice at the Italian Grand Prix. Image: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool.

In the second session, Ricciardo took a different approach compared to his 19 competitors as he started FP2 on the soft compound tyre.

His choice rewarded him with a place within the top five times, with the #3 recording a 1:21.842s lap around the 5.79km circuit.

Ricciardo returned to the pits, completing one additional exploratory lap on the C5 before swapping out the used set to scrub another C5.

Focusing back on the timing sheets, a 1:21.300s moved him into P7, with the only other surprise patron above him being Nico Hulkenberg in the Ferrari-powered Haas. 

A second crash of the day, this time being Kevin Magnussen at the second Lesmo, led to another Red Flag delay, leaving race simulations to follow in the final stint.

He recorded an initial lap time of 1:25.933s, nine-tenths slower than the front runners’ attempts.

Ending FP2 within the top ten, Ricciardo held on to eighth place after George Russell rediscovered his pace from the back of the pack.

Additionally, Ricciardo sat over four-tenths ahead of Yuki Tsunoda.

“I’m pretty happy, “ Ricciardo said.

“I don’t think we’ll do too much overnight — I mean, we’ll always do something, it’s Formula 1, you’ve always got to change something… OCD, you know.

“But yeah, we’re certainly not scratching our heads, I think we’re in a good place and I felt a good level of comfort in the car. 

“So some fine-tuning, I’m sure there is also time to find, as always, so not yet complacent but yeah, I think we’re in a good place.”

Describing Friday as a “decent day”, RB’s Sporting Director Alan Permane said there is still “a little bit of a difference across our cars” after Ricciardo finished ahead of Yuki Tsunoda in both sessions.

“Daniel finished the day reasonably happy with his balance, but there is still some margin to improve,” Permane said.

“It’s always difficult here in Monza, with the low downforce, when the cars have less grip in the corners and are skating about.

“As for Yuki, he didn’t have a great FP2 because we made an error in the set up with his car and we apologise to him for that. 

“His Medium run was compromised and when the set-up was correct, he could not set a representative time on his Soft tyres as there was the red flag. 

“He’s got too much oversteer, so we will work on that overnight for FP3.”

The final practice session will allow RB to make their minor tweaks, with Ricciardo hoping to continue his run in the top ten through to the first competitive session.

FP3 will kick off at 8:30 PM, followed by Qualifying at midnight. 

Image: Clive Rose/Getty Images // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

2024 Italian Grand Prix Schedule:

Friday, August 30th:

FP1: 21:30 – 22:30

Saturday, August 31st:

FP2: 01:00 – 02:00

FP3: 20:30 – 21:30

Sunday, September 1st:

Qualifying: 00:00 – 01:00

Race: 23:00

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