Daniel Ricciardo was left disappointed but targets a Baku-style come back after a suspected turbocharger failure left him at the back of the grid for the British Grand Prix.
The Australian had a positive start, setting the best time on his first run in a wet Q1 but that was cut short when the engine failed and whirring noises indicated a turbo problem. He tried to make it to the pits, but his car was only able to make it to the old pit straight before stopping and causing a red flag.
His subsequent early exit, though typical of the recent reliability issues that have affected his teammate, signals the first time the Red Bull driver has not made Q3 in qualifying since the Italian Grand Prix in 2015.
“It isn’t sure yet, but it’s suspected,” Ricciardo said when asked if a turbo issue had been confirmed. “It sounded a little bit sick, that was the first thing. I lost a bit of power and then I heard some weird turbo noises.”
“I thought I could make it back to the pits but then everything went off. Definitely a big failure of some sort and we couldn’t stay for the session, so disappointing.”
The recent winner in Azerbaijan, who was 17th at one stage in that race, remains positive and hopes to overturn the fortunes by getting it right when it counts.
“We know these conditions could’ve given us a bit more opportunity. We were quick at the beginning there,” he said of the early rain.
“Obviously tomorrow is another day, I’m just disappointed not to have shown more of what we could do in qualifying. But yeah, tomorrow is where the points are. We have some work ahead of us to get back into them but until we can it is what it is.”
The Australian was already due to serve a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change but with the current position, he is set to start from the last row joining Fernando Alonso.
It is likely Red Bull will also now fit other new engine parts in an effort to avoid future penalties.
“Yes, that is something we will look at because we already start at the back, whether it is 19th or 20th, I can give Fernando a position if he wants it,” the 28-year-old joked.
“It just means that he has to be the first person to take a victim out for me but maybe we will try and see if we can make the most of this penalty and fit on some new parts. We will see what happens but I know that the guys will assess everything now.”