Daniel Ricciardo labelled Yuki Tsunoda a “f***ing helmet” after the chequered flag at the Bahrain Grand Prix. The two VCARB team-mates nearly came together on the cooldown lap after the latter was left furious over team order.
Tsunoda had been locked into a battle with Haas driver Kevin Magnussen when he was told to invert positions with his team-mate, who was trailing closely behind. The Japanese driver was furious, hitting back: “Are you kidding me?” The 23-year-old then waited for another lap to let Ricciardo through, before sarcastically chiming in: “Yeah, thanks, guys. I appreciate it.”
This wasn’t where Tsunoda’s frustrations ended though. Ricciardo ultimately failed to get past Magnussen, and on the cooldown lap after the race, his team-mate sped up and dived down the inside of his rival at the turn-eight hairpin, locking up before accelerating around the outside of the Aussie’s VCARB car on the run through turn nine.
Ricciardo was flabbergasted by the incident, exclaiming on the team radio: “What the f**k! I’ll save it… he’s a f***ing helmet!” before expanding on his thoughts during a post-race interview with F1 TV.
“I don’t know,” Ricciardo explained. “I came on the radio and was trying to stay cool. A bit of immaturity, let’s say. I’m being very sensible right out but let’s call it immaturity. I think he was obviously frustrated with the team orders but let’s be real, this is something we talked about before the race, you know.
“It was very likely I was going to use a soft at the end of the race so he knew that there was a chance that I would have a pace advantage at the end and if he gets a call, then it’s going to happen. It’s also not like he’s not giving me points, we’re fighting for 13th so at least give us the best chance to get at least one car in the points.”
Tsunoda also offered an insight into the incident after the race. Speaking to Sky Sports F1, he said: “Well we’re fighting outside of points anyway – P13, P14 – and I was just overtaking Magnussen, I was side by side, and [they said] ‘Swap the cars’.
“So the last few laps, to be honest, it’s hard to understand, but we have to review… maybe there was something also on their mind and I have to understand, but in the end, he didn’t overtake as well, so whatever.”
With both drivers aiming to put themselves in the shop window for the second Red Bull seat in 2025, this incident will come as a negative start to the season. It also represents a frustrating start to life as a team principal for VCARB chief Laurent Mekies, who moved from Ferrari over the winter.
