20/07/2024
NEWS STORY
Daniel Ricciardo: "It was definitely a long and tricky qualifying, and I'm relieved to hear everyone is okay after the crashes that happened.
"While we were out on track in Q1 it started raining more, but then we had a Red Flag, and the track dried a little bit. We went out again after that and finished P1, which was a good moment. I'm happy that as a team we made it into Q3 with both cars as we've been quick all weekend. If there wasn't another Red Flag in Q3, and we'd be able to push on the new tyres, I feel maybe we could've gained a couple more positions. Looking at tomorrow, I don't think it's the case of us trying to hang on to the points from where we start, I firmly believe that we can be even better in the race, so I'm looking forward to it."
Yuki Tsunoda: "It's a big shame and I'm disappointed. My lap in Q3 was really good, I was feeling great. I was on the limit and half the tyre went on the grass, which is normal, but because it was wet it got exaggerated. Until that corner, the lap felt great. I'm sorry because everyone in the team and myself deserve a higher position for all the work we've done. The car felt great, and the lap was solid, and I reckon it could've put us in a great position for tomorrow. Congrats to the team for being able to go through to Q3 with both cars."
Guillaume Dezoteux (Head of Vehicle Performance): "FP3 was productive, especially for Yuki, who couldn't really run yesterday afternoon in FP2. It was a pretty straightforward session, focused on quali preparation, and both cars confirmed the good performance shown yesterday. Quali was indeed not that easy, and tense. We started on a damp surface with variable light rain around the track, which was drying extremely fast, allowing dry tyres to be used straight from the beginning of the session. Q1 was strong, with both cars comfortably getting through to Q2, with Daniel ending the session in P1 after the Red Flag. Q2 just confirmed our good pace, and Yuki and Daniel finished in P8 and P9 respectively, making it to Q3. Unfortunately, in his last attempt, Yuki went wide at the exit of Turn 5 and crashed heavily into the barriers. His lap was looking very strong up to that point, so it's disappointing but luckily, he's okay. There is a lot of work ahead for the mechanics, but we are confident we will get the car ready for the race tomorrow. Daniel managed to improve after the Red Flag but the time remaining until the end of the session was very tight and his last lap had a little bit of traffic to Piastri in front. He managed to get P9 ahead of Yuki, so we are in a good position for the race. We are expecting a hotter track tomorrow and tyre management will play an important part. Let's hope to finish with both cars in the points, which would reward a strong weekend here in Budapest."
Check out our Saturday gallery from the Hungaroring here.