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Ricciardo finished 13th and Tsunoda 14th at the end of the 57-lap affair, much to the dismay of Tsunoda.
The Japanese driver had started 11th and was running 13th in the final laps before being asked to move aside for his team-mate, who was on a different strategy.
All 20 drivers had started the race on the soft compound tyre before moving onto the hards for the middle stint.
However, while Tsunoda had a second set of hards to run to the finish, Ricciardo had a set of red-walled softs to take him to the flag.
With a pace advantage in the final laps, the Australian caught the sister RB, at which point the team order was issued.
Tsunoda was battling with Kevin Magnussen at the time, RB wanting to offer Ricciardo the opportunity to use his tyre advantage to scythe by the Haas driver.
“That was really it,” Ricciardo said, noting the difference in strategy with Tsunoda and the disparity in speed that resulted from it.
“We talk about it as well, obviously before the race, you know.
“We go through strategy and we also have a few plans of what strategy we might do.
“But it was highly likely that me, starting on the used soft, I was going to finish the race on a new soft and have an attacking last stint.
“So the call was quite expected.”
That was not how Tsunoda viewed it.
He was displeased by the request at the time and spoke after the race of his confusion surrounding it.
“I don’t know,” he said when asked about the call from the team.
“He was outside of [the] points. I was just about to overtake Magnussen, I was side-by-side in the main straight and a driver swap in the last few laps.
“To be honest, I don’t understand what’s the team’s thoughts.”
Ahead of Magnussen in 12th was Zhou Guanyu, only a handful of seconds up the road.
The early release of Ricciardo gave the team its best chance of gaining that position, too – and an increased chance of a point should there be late drama.
Instead, the delay caused by Tsunoda’s reluctance to respect the team’s wishes halted Ricciardo’s momentum.
While he caught Kevin Magnussen in the final lap, was not able to find a way through.
“I know when you’re in the race you’re a little bit more emotional and it’s a bit more intense, but this call came as no surprise,” he asserted.
“And obviously, every lap counts when you’re on this tyre, and trying to get that little bit of grip out of it.
“So you need to react to the team call.
“And also, we weren’t in a points position yet, so there’s really nothing to lose – just let me go and see if I can do something about it.”
This season is key for both Tsunoda and Ricciardo as they eye off the prospect of replacing Sergio Perez at Red Bull Racing.
Results are therefore important. A loss to Ricciardo, even at the behest of the team, is still a loss.
Ricciardo admitted there was never any intention of handing the place back once Tsunoda had moved aside.
“If we were maybe in a point’s position.. but obviously in the end, we weren’t. Whether I’m 13th, 14th, I don’t know if any driver cares about that, but I don’t,” the eight-time race winner noted.
“So if the team said ‘let him back by before the finish like’, I would have done it because it means nothing to me.
“Yes, there was a little bit of conflict today, but I don’t want that to set the tone,” Ricciardo added.
“We talk about it now in the briefing, honestly and, hopefully, once he’s calmed down, he can say, ‘Okay, I should have moved a lot earlier’.”
