Stunning Q1 Exit for Ricciardo at Home Grand Prix

Daniel Ricciardo has endured a dismal qualifying session at his home Grand Prix, crashing out in Q1 and starting Sunday's race from the back row of the grid.

The Australian driver initially looked to have secured a spot in Q2 on home soil at the Albert Park Circuit before a lap deletion for track limits at Turn 4 saw him relegated into the drop zone and out of contention.

Tsunoda Outperforms Ricciardo, Secures Q3

In contrast to Ricciardo's struggles, his RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda had a strong qualifying session, making it all the way through to Q3 ahead of both Mercedes cars. Tsunoda will start the Melbourne race a full 10 places higher than Ricciardo.

Ricciardo Left Baffled by Lack of Pace

Ricciardo admitted to being perplexed by his lack of performance, especially when compared to Tsunoda. He felt he had given it his all on the deleted lap but was still significantly slower than his teammate.

The Aussie driver believes there are still some areas where improvements can be made but acknowledges that it's been a challenging weekend for him so far.

RB Team Looking to Recover in Race

RB will head into Sunday's race hoping to get off the mark in the constructors' standings after a difficult start to 2024. The team is one of four yet to score this year.

Oscar Piastri will start Sunday's race from sixth after an impressive qualifying session for McLaren, while Max Verstappen has his sights set on a third straight win to open 2024 after claiming pole for the Australian Grand Prix.