McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo has said that struggles with oversteer were behind his early exit from qualifying at the 2022 United States Grand Prix.
The McLaren driver was once again knocked out in Q1 at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin in a tricky qualifying session, with the cars having to handle strong winds blowing across the track.
Ricciardo was 17th overall, while his teammate Lando Norris qualified 8th, and the Australian said he suffering issues with oversteer throughout the session.
“It’s very frustrating, but that’s just how it’s gone this year. I try to push on it, and I don’t get much reward trying to hang on to it,” Ricciardo told Sky Sports F1.
“It was frustrating, I knew when I crossed the line that the lap wasn’t good enough because I nearly spun more than once.
“Obviously when quali comes you want to lean on the car, and it’s not giving me what I want. So yea, pretty frustrating.
“You can definitely race around here, I’ll look forward to tomorrow no matter what.”
Mateschitz Tribute
Ricciardo also added his tribute to Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz, who has passed away age 78, with the teams only finding out the news just before the session began.
“Obviously not a good session, and got the news about Dietrich Mateschitz just before quali, so it hasn’t been the most pleasant last hour, but I just wanted to pass on my condolences to his family and all the Red Bull family,” Ricciardo said.
“He played an integral part in my career, and was instrumental in getting me to where I am today ultimately, so really sad to hear that news, and I wanted to pass on my warmest condolences to his family.”