Ricciardo was initially twelfth in Q1 and thus safely by way of to Q2 earlier than shedding his lap time to a observe limits offence, which dropped him right down to 18th.
Nonetheless, even with out the penalty he could not match the tempo of Tsunoda, who progressed by way of the three periods to qualify eighth.
The Australian, outqualified by his team-mate in each occasion up to now this 12 months, admitted he was left “puzzled” at his failure to match Tsunoda.
“The lap itself I used to be pleased with,” Ricciardo mentioned. “From my facet, I felt like I obtained every little thing out of it. After which after I noticed it nonetheless wasn’t ok, as an instance, in comparison with Yuki.
“I am nonetheless a bit puzzled as a result of I do know what these laps usually imply. So, I crossed the road, being like ‘Yeah, that was a very good one’.
“Clearly, the time obtained deleted, however the lap itself was undoubtedly one of the best quali lap I’ve achieved this 12 months.
“And going into Q2, I do not know the place there was rather more time. You clearly take a few tenths from observe evo. However six, seven tenths? That is not in it.”
He added: “I knew on the time Flip 4 I used to be preventing it. And I keep in mind taking extra kerb than I often am.
Daniel Ricciardo, VCARB 01
Photograph by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Photos
“So I knew I used to be wider than regular. But it surely’s humorous, you do it after which already after Flip 5 I forgot about it.
“So I did the lap. After which ultimately when Pierre [Hamelin, race engineer] advised me truthfully, I forgot all about it. So I believe it took some time for it to sink in.”
Ricciardo insisted that he felt pleased with the automobile in Melbourne.
“I really feel assured when it comes to braking and steadiness and all that,” he mentioned. “So it is not like, say, [at] McLaren, the place I used to be a bit not sure and all ‘I can not actually push the automobile right here’. Some nook speeds I see, I am merely simply not capable of carry that pace.”
He added: “I really feel like I am on the edge with the automobile when it comes to like, just about four-wheel sliding. So it is balanced. And I really feel now I am on the restrict of the place its potential is.”
Ricciardo additionally revealed that the staff modified some elements on his automobile following the final race in Jeddah in an try to handle considerations he expressed there.
“After Saudi, we noticed some issues throughout automobiles,” he mentioned. “The staff modified rather a lot and gave me fairly just a few new elements for this weekend to handle a few of these points and considerations.
“And it regarded prefer it was higher. However I nonetheless, as an instance, I am nonetheless not absolutely satisfied, as a result of like I mentioned, we nonetheless really feel like we’re struggling greater than we usually are in a automobile that I am fairly pleased with.”
