Daniel Ricciardo admits a “bitter” feeling after the Australian saw his season ended prematurely by yet more mechanical problems during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The Red Bull driver had fought hard to retain his fourth position on the grid at the start, after holding off Kimi Raikkonen into both chicanes on Lap 1, and was looking solid between the two Ferraris after building a reasonable gap to the Finn.
It wouldn’t last, however, as what initially Ricciardo thought was a simple issue after a tag against the barrier would evolve into a hydraulics problem, forcing him out of a race for the third time in the final four.
“I pitted suddenly because I came out of Turn 19 just before the pits and suddenly the tyre felt weird so I thought I had a puncture so I quickly said ‘oh come in, box, box,’ and then as soon as I got back out I could feel something wasn’t right,” he explained. “The steering was getting heavier so I knew it was something hydraulic. It was a shame.”
It was a disappointing end to what had been a decent season, considering Red Bull’s pace, for the 28-year-old with nine podiums to his name, but what frustrates Ricciardo more, is the wait now until he can turn his luck around.
“This one hurts actually, probably more than the others,” he admitted. “Obviously I was gutted in Austin, but we had another chance in a week’s time, but I don’t have another chance until March now.
“It’s just reliability, nothing I could have done to prevent it, a pretty bitter way to end the season to be honest. Sure, we had some highs but we finished in a bit of a trench.”
Adding insult to injury, his retirement also allowed Raikkonen to jump him into fourth in the final Drivers’ standings though Ricciardo played it down.
“If I’m brutally honest, with that car he [Kimi] should have been a long way in front in the championship,” he told NBC. “So, yeah, I don’t think it’s a big deal.”
