Saudi Arabia: No joy in Jeddah as Daniel finishes 16th

An early-race pit stop gone wrong and a late-race spin bookended a “tough” Saturday night for Daniel in Saudi Arabia, as Visa Cash App RB’s wait for 2024 points continues.

Race data

Saudi Arabia (Round 2 of 24), 7-9 March, 2024
Jeddah Corniche Circuit, 6.174km, 50 laps
Qualified: 14th
Finished: 16th
Laps per position: 14th (2 laps), 15th (5 laps), 16th (8 laps), 17th (18 laps), 18th (16 laps)
Pit stops/tyres: Lap 7 (medium/hard)
Fastest lap: 1min 33.323secs (16th), lap 47
Points this event: 0
Points this season: 0 (16th in world championship)

Daniel's download

“A slow pit stop, a spin a few laps from the end … that kind of summed up the weekend, it was a tough one. Coming into the race we knew it would be tough, but I think the only thing that’s probably keeping me a little bit optimistic now is we did find a few things, so that’s positive when you know that.

“I’ve driven a long time so I know when things don’t feel quite right. On one hand it’s nice to find a few things, but on another it meant that it was a pretty painful weekend. That’s obviously frustrating.

“Qualifying was not good, it kind of fell away from us. Q1, the first couple of laps were OK and I think we knew where there was some time, but then trying to get that time, we simply just plateaued so it was a frustrating session. Last week (14th in Bahrain) was on me, but Saudi was a bit more of a mystery. The car's never going to be perfect, but in Q2 when everyone's able to find half a second or something, we just plateaued and I felt like I couldn't get any more out of it with what I had.

“It feels like it’s been a pretty slow start to the year, but it’s been two races and I know how quickly this thing can turn around. There’s not too much head-scratching right now – yes it was a frustrating weekend, but it’s not that we don’t have answers. I think it’s quite clear.

“Melbourne will be better. I know we’ll fix it – we’ve just got to polish her up and make sure it’s good to go for Melbourne."

DR’s race recap

* Qualified 14th and ended lap 1 in 15th place after being passed by Hulkenberg/Haas.
* Pitted on lap 7 under safety car following Stroll/Aston Martin crash, rejoined in 18th after 63-second pit stop.
* Passed Bottas/Sauber on lap 24 to advance to 17th.
* Advanced to 16th on lap 42 after Zhou/Sauber pit stop.
* Finished 16th, one lap down on race-winner Verstappen/Red Bull, and 13secs behind Sargeant/Williams in 15th.

DR’s next destination

Round 3: Australia (Albert Park), 24 March
Australia in 2022 (most recent race): qualified 7th, finished 6th
In F1: 9 races, 42 points, 5 points finishes, 3 DNFs, 1 DQ
Best finish: 4th (2016, 2018)