Ricciardo: “I don’t know why I still come on Sunday”

Daniel Ricciardo experienced a new disappointment at the Mexican GP by experiencing his second consecutive retirement after that of Austin (Texas). After a battery problem at the Circuit of the Americas, it was the clutch that failed for the Australian when he was about to offer the double to Red Bull Racing after starting on pole but being overtaken at the start by his teammate Max Verstappen.

“Frustration is no longer even the right term, we should talk about helplessness, commented Daniel Ricciardo after the race which is now his 8th retirement of the season in 19 Grands Prix. It's been a long time since I've had a weekend without having any worries. I had good starts all weekend and when Sunday comes... I'm going to let gasly take my place, I'm done. »

Daniel Ricciardo can be even more worried as he will join Renault next year after suffering from the lack of reliability of the Power Unit at the Losange this year.

“Everything seems hopeless. I don't know why I come on Sunday. I don't see what interest I will have in participating in the last two races of the season (in Brazil and Abu Dhabi). I'm not superstitious, but the car is cursed, added the Australian who has not been on the podium since his victory at the Monaco GP this year.

Daniel Ricciardo is 70 points behind his teammate Max Verstappen who won his second victory of the season on the Rodriguez brothers' circuit last Sunday.

“He was really frustrated. We can understand how he feels after seeing him perform at such a high level. “It’s not just sickening for him but for the whole team because a double would have meant a lot to us.”, said Team Principal Christian Horner.

Discover the analysis of the Mexican GP carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2189 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from this Wednesday on newsstands.