P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Ricciardo puzzled as "best" lap of F1 2024 not enough to match Tsunoda
Daniel Ricciardo initially qualified 12th in Q1 and advanced to Q2, but dropped to 18th due to a track limits violation. Despite the penalty, he couldn’t match the pace of Tsunoda, who qualified 8th. Ricciardo expressed being “puzzled” at his inability to match Tsunoda’s performance, even though he felt satisfied with his lap. He mentioned that his lap was the best qualifying lap he had done this year. Ricciardo made adjustments to his car after facing challenges in the previous race in Jeddah, aiming to improve performance, although he still had concerns about the car’s performance. Ultimately, Ricciardo felt confident in the car’s balance and braking in Melbourne but acknowledged that there were areas where he struggled to carry speed and felt he was at the car’s limits.
