Red Bull chief extends his support to Yuki Tsunoda amidst Daniel Ricciardo row - "He could have finished 10th"

Red Bull chief Dr. Helmut Marko feels that Yuki Tsunoda could have finished the 2024 F1 Bahrain GP in points if Visa CashApp RB had opted for a better race strategy.

The first race for the team under the new branding was rather underwhelming. Both Ricciardo and Tsunoda finished out of points. The pair also reportedly had a rather aggressive post-race encounter.

During the final laps of the race, Yuki Tsunoda was asked to let Daniel Ricciardo pass for P13, in an attempt to overtake Kevin Magnussen. The former initially resisted but ultimately let his teammate pass. This, however, gave no advantage to the team as there was not enough time left for Ricciardo to attempt a move.

Red Bull's advisor Helmut Marko felt that Tsunoda could have finished in points with a P10 position if RB had the right strategy in place for the race. He told Oe24:

"The drama could have been avoided," referring to the Tsunoda-Ricciardo row.

"I spoke to Yuki afterwards. With the right strategy, he could have finished 10th."

Post the race, Daniel Ricciardo complained of grip issues with the tires. He mentioned that the team had started with used tires to keep the fresh ones for a later pit stop, but that did not give them enough of a chance to attack early in the race.

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Yuki Tsunoda admitted feeling 'heated' with Daniel Ricciardo during final moments of the F1 Bahrain GP

On the cool-down lap of the race, Yuki Tsunoda attempted to dive-bomb teammate Daniel Ricciardo into turn eight and then overtook him with minimal margin between the two. Even a minor error could have resulted in both cars crashing post-race.

Speaking during a press conference where Sportskeeda was present, Tsunoda mentioned that he was slower than Ricciardo because of his battle with Magnussen, and hence the team asked them to switch positions.

"I think we were on a different strategy as Daniel."

"He had a new tyre – a soft tyre – and I was fighting with Kevin. Obviously he had slightly more free air and he had more pace. I think probably the team thought Daniel had more pace and so more chance to overtake Kevin, so they asked me to swap the positions."

Yuki Tsunoda further admitted that he was "heated" because of the decision the team made.

"In the moment I was a bit heated. I was getting quite heated moments in my brain. But I still let him through, probably a lap later or half a lap later. So in the end, the team thought they had more chance and I respect that."

"We talked about it after the race with our team. We’re still unified and we are on the same page now. We understand each other, so I think that’s it really."

Yuki Tsunoda finished the Bahrain GP in P14 with his teammate a place ahead of him due to the swap. RB is expected to perform better over the course of the 2024 F1 season.