Daniel Ricciardo remains upbeat despite a tough weekend at the Mexican Grand Prix, struggling in qualifying before failing to finish the race due to a turbo failure.
The Australian entered the race on the back foot after receiving a twenty-place grid penalty for a replacement MGU-H, still leaving much to do after starting in sixteenth position as a result of other drivers’ penalties.
Ricciardo was able to make up nine places by the end of lap three, only to suffer a loss of power shortly after while in seventh place. Ricciardo’s #3 Red Bull Racing car was one of four Renault-powered cars that failed to finish due to mechanical difficulties, three of which were related to the power unit.
“At the start I did what I could, it was pretty close and there was a lot going on, but I thought I made quick progress,” said Ricciardo. “I told Helmut [Marko] this morning that I would get up to seventh by the end of the first lap”
“I think it was lap six when the turbo started to sound strange and then I had no power. I was able to limp back to the pits but that was obviously race over.”
“There seems to be something fundamental going on with the engines, we’ve been coming here for the last couple of years so there shouldn’t have been any surprises. I guess the attitude and temperatures have been really hard to stay on top of and it’s been a pretty grim weekend for some of us”.
“I just hope now that we won’t have to take more penalties in Brazil. I don’t know how I’m smiling and I’m definitely hurting inside but what can you do, I can’t change the situation.”
