Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo had a nightmare home Grand Prix on Sunday when his Red Bull Racing contender didn't even make it to the grid. With his car stuck in 6th gear with 22 minutes remaining before the start of the race, the recovery truck brought them both back to Red Bull garage where the team immediately went to work on trying to correct the problem.
Sadly for Daniel, the work wasn't completed until two full laps had been completed. He then took to the track from pitlane and began what was classed as a testing session for the Milton Keynes based squad.
His home fans all around the circuit clapped and cheered, but even that wasn't to be and he eventually had yet another issue on lap 28 that saw him pull off the track and retire.
"Not the weekend I wanted at home. For all these things to happen at my home race that's probably the most frustrating thing,” he said. “We were on the back foot already after the crash in qualifying and then today we had an issue during the warm up lap followed by a second issue in the race. On both occasions the car just came to a stop so I couldn't do anything else. But look, it's the first race so hopefully we'll move forward from this. Sure I'm disappointed now but it is what it is. I've been here before so I'll wake up tomorrow and be motivated to get ready for China.”
“I feel for the fans. I'm sure they would have loved seeing me in action, but I feel super grateful for everyone that came this weekend and supported me. Even when I stopped they were still cheering and shouting my name. That goes a long way and it makes me stand here now feeling a lot better than if I didn't have that so I definitely appreciate their support.”
“Also, the boys worked so many hours this weekend, and did a great job getting me out on the track again but unfortunately it hasn't come together for any of us. Max's pace in the race looked a bit more encouraging, so I think we're better than what we're showing but it's still a bit of a puzzle we're trying to figure out. If any Aussies have a bit of energy left in a few weeks, then come out to China and you'll hopefully see a better race from me."
