Spain: Understanding upgrades the key for Daniel after Barcelona
A significant upgrade package for the VCARB 01 proves hard to master in round 10, with Daniel finishing as the lead RB driver in 15th place.
Race data
Spain (Round 10 of 24), 21-23 June, 2024
Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya: 4.657km, 66 laps
Qualified: 18th
Finished: 15th
Laps per position: 10th (1 lap), 11th (1 lap), 12th (2 laps), 13th (5 laps), 14th (1 lap), 15th (17 laps), 16th (4 laps), 17th (20 laps), 18th (11 laps), 19th (4 laps)
Pit stops/tyres: Lap 16 (soft/medium), Lap 42 (medium/hard)
Fastest lap: 1min 19.450secs (17th), lap 61
Points this event: 0
Points this season: 9 (12th in world championship)
Daniel's download
“Spain … it’s been a weird one because am I happy with 15th? Absolutely not. But am I happy with my race and how we managed it? Yes, I actually feel like we did a good race. I honestly felt like we did a good job and we didn’t have anything more to show this weekend. In the race I felt like I maximised it, but obviously with the new package, we’re missing something.
“It’s tough … especially after Montreal [when] you’re within two-tenths [of a second] from pole, and here we were a long way off. They’re very different circuits so you can’t get too caught up in a race that was two weeks ago, but bringing updates and a lot of positive momentum [to Spain], it certainly got slowed down.
“We were all disappointed. Q1 [exits] aren’t fun by any means, but we have to figure it all out together. We’ve got to keep our foot on the floor and try to find the things we’re missing, and maybe we were expecting to get with this new package and maybe haven’t quite seen yet.
“It’s only one circuit with our upgrade but there’s been a few corners where I feel it’s not giving us the little bit extra that we’re looking for. Thinking back to qualifying, the car actually felt balanced … but now, we’re lacking overall load. This is a high-speed circuit with a lot of fast corners and I guess that’s where we’re currently a little bit weak.
“We’ll take a few little positives from the week, but obviously a few more things to work on and a quick turnaround, so we’ll get into the debrief … I took plenty of notes during the race and have plenty of feedback to give back to the team, so we’ll try to put it to good use and come back in Austria.”
DR’s race recap
* Qualified 18th, eliminated in Q1 (+0.194secs from Q2). Started on soft tyres.
* Passed by Sargeant/Williams on lap 1, dropped to 19th, re-passed for 18th on lap 2.
* Advanced to 10th on lap 15, pitted on lap 16 for medium tyres, rejoined in 19th.
* Moved ahead of Tsunoda/RB on lap 22 for 17th.
* Advanced to 13th before pitting for hard tyres on lap 42, dropping to 19th.
* Passed Tsunoda for 17th on lap 44.
* Overtook Magnussen/Haas for 16th on lap 57.
* Passed Bottas/Sauber for 15th on lap 60.
* Finished 15th after 65 laps, one lap behind winner Verstappen/Red Bull, 19secs behind Stroll/Aston Martin in 14th, and 9secs ahead of Bottas/Sauber in 16th.
DR’s next destination
Round 11: Austria (Red Bull Ring), 30 June
Austria in 2022 (most recent race): qualified 11th, finished 9th
In F1: 11 races, 1 podium, 1 fastest lap, 42 points, 7 points finishes
Best qualifying: 4th (2017)
Best finish: 3rd (2017)
