Daniel Ricciardo: “Redemption has arrived”

There are many examples of victories with cars that are far from 100%. F1, one of the most famous remaining Ayrton Senna in Brazil in 1991. Daniel Ricciardo was also faced with mechanical problems this Sunday in the streets of Monaco, which did not, however, prevent him from finally adding his name to the prize list of the most legendary of Grands Prix.

A solid leader at the start of the race, the Australian saw his RB14 lose one of the elements making up the Power Unit hybrid system. “We lost the MGU-K on the 17th or 18th lap so he was giving up two and a half seconds per lap, admits Christian Horner, Team Principal of Red Bull Racing cited by Sky Sports, which put the power loss at around 25%.

Then your brake temperatures get out of control, the fuel and tires start to heat up Yet he managed it like he was out for a ride on a Sunday afternoon. By changing settings, saving fuel, brakes, tires, asking what was going on with Max's tires, he drove an incredible race this weekend. »

Visibly moved when getting off his car, Daniel Ricciardo believes he has finally put behind him the 2016 event which had escaped him due to a mistake by Red Bull Racing in the pits, while victory held out his arms to the winner of the day.

“I think I can show more emotion today than yesterday, specifies Ricciardo just after finally raising his arms to the sky. It's been two years, so I finally feel like redemption has arrived.

We had problems, we had a lot to do during the race, I felt a loss of power and I thought the race was over. I ended up using only six speeds. »

Discover the full report and analysis of the Monaco Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondents in the Principality, in issue 2167 of AUTOhebdo, available tomorrow evening in digital version, and from this Wednesday on newsstands.