Ricciardo arrived in Turkey after consecutive top 5 finishes, won the Italian Grand Prix in Monza and finished fourth after the late rain in Russia.
But Turkey proved to be a tougher weekend for Ricciardo as McLaren battled for pace which resulted in his being out in Q1.
The team decided to equip Ricciardo’s car with a completely new unit, making him the last one on the grid.
Ricciardo ran up to 11th place, but fell back to 13th with two laps to go after he was overtaken by both Alfa Romeo drivers when his worn tires slowed down.
While Ricciardo was confident that McLaren could learn lessons from his struggles in Turkey, he said he didn’t want to get involved and let it spoil his recent upturn.
“I don’t want to fire this weekend, but let’s say from a trajectory [point of view] I want to refuse, “said Ricciardo after the race.
“I don’t want it to cloud our mood. It’s one of those weekends that haven’t been good.
“I know we’re going to do a debriefing before we get out of here, so hopefully let’s put some information on the table and try to learn something.
“But I don’t want this weekend to affect our momentum. [It is] just one of those days. As long as we can learn, we will keep going. “
Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren, is interviewed after the race
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
The longer turns and limited character of the Istanbul Park track played against the strengths of the McLaren MCL35M car, much like last month at Zandvoort.
Looking at the United States Grand Prix in Austin next week, Ricciardo was more optimistic about the team’s chances at the Circuit of The Americas.
“I think there are certainly some corners where we will be good,” said Ricciardo.
“In the first sector we should be okay, pretty fast corners, I think we will be decent. All hairpin turns should be okay, we can brake normally.
“Part of the last sector could hurt us a little, but you see, I think we will be competitive again.
“Hopefully it’s 38 degrees, piping hot, everyone is sweating and we’re enjoying it.”
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