Ricciardo frustrated by inconsistent qualifying form

It’s proved a difficult start to the season for the Australian who faced questions over his future as early as the third round.

While speculation suggesting he’d be replaced by the time the circus reached Miami for Round 6 proved false, the pressure has not gone away.

Fourth on the grid for the Miami Sprint, a position he then held in the 100km encounter, offered a brief respite and demonstrated the talent that netted him eight grand prix wins was still there.

However, it was quickly followed by a disappointing qualifying session that saw him start the Miami Grand Prix from last on the grid.

In Imola, he progressed to Qualifying 3 but slipped backward as both RB drivers suffered from poor starts.

Heading into last weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, Ricciardo’s optimism was again high, only to find himself bundled out in Qualifying 2.

With overtaking effectively impossible in Monaco – there were a total of just four throughout Sunday’s race – his Saturday performance ultimately dictated his result.

“I definitely felt good coming into the session, coming into the day,” Ricciardo said of his Saturday performance.

“Obviously two years ago here I really struggled with McLaren.

“I felt a lot better this time around, but look, the reality is the result isn’t really that much better.”

Tyres have been a common bugbear for Ricciardo.

He struggled to switch them on in Qualifying 2 in Saudi Arabia and was bundled out of the session, with much the same happening in Monaco.

But while he acknowledges that he experiences an issue with the tyres, he does not want to hide behind it.

“I don’t want to just be like ‘hey, tyres, this and that’. I want to try and take a good look at myself and see what I’m missing.

“Then we’ll look at what the car can give me to help me out, because I think the frustrating thing is I can do it, but it’s obviously not happening frequently enough.

“That’s where I’m kind of getting frustrated with myself, just trying to understand why it’s not consistently, week-in, week-out being a Q3 contender.”

Comfort in the car has been a common comment this year, while the team admitted it is working to tailor the car more in the direction Ricciardo has led the team.

The Australian himself has downplayed that, suggesting it’s simply a different direction that works for both Yuki Tsunoda and himself.

Whatever the case, developments are coming that should, in theory, move the needle further towards a ‘Ricciardo’ car.

For the moment, Ricciardo sits 14th in the drivers’ championship with 5 points, while team-mate Tsunoda has 19; their combined total leaves RB sixth in the constructors’ title after eight race weekends.