Daniel Ricciardo was “heartbroken” after a power problem at the beginning of the Styrian Grand Prix derailed his breathtaking start to the race.
After Ricciardo stalled in qualifying to put pressure on himself as his battles with the McLaren MCL35M continued, Ricciardo showed exactly why he was picked by the team with a glowing first lap in which he made up five positions.
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However, a sudden loss of performance caused the Australian to drop to 14th place before finishing 13th.
“It was such an unfortunate race,” said Ricciardo. “We moved up from 13th to eighth place. It was a great start, a great first lap and we are in such a strong position in front of many faster competitors on a medium.” [tyre].
“We had a nice seat and then suddenly I lost my strength. So basically I just waved through every position and more that I won.
“We were able to fix it on the track, it was a control problem so we could get it, but then I’m back in the mess that I got out of well on the first lap.
“Then you’re stuck in traffic and on the train, but to be honest, your race is over after that. It’s daunting, for sure. Out of our control.
“I look at the positions and I was in front [Carlos] Sainz with the same strategy, he finished sixth, I think we could have finished sixth. We just had this problem. ”
Ricciardo expects “temperature-related problem”
Ricciardo added, “It is painful to see all the work undone when you try to fix it and it all just walk by you.
“The weekend just got worse and worse. I’m looking forward to getting out of here and coming back next week with a new approach.
“It’s obviously heartbreaking and daunting for me, but I’m not the only one feeling this pain and the race, from the first lap after a bad one yesterday, looks really promising.
“I think we could have finished fifth and sixth today like a week ago [in France] so it could be very different, but it is not. Fortunately, we can go back in a week. ”
McLaren’s Mercedes unit was locked onto the track without Ricciardo or Lando Norris, who finished fifth, having to repeat themselves.
When asked whether the problem had occurred before, Ricciardo replied: “That is not the case. I don’t know exactly what it is.
“I know a lot of cars were looking for clear air to get some cooling, so it could have been temperature related. If I were to make a wild guess now I’d say so, but honestly I’m not sure. We will see what “you say. “
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