Ricciardo at fault: “A lot of hope and little reward”

This may seem incredible, but Formula 1, the same circuit can offer very different races. Daniel Ricciardo (Renault) learned it the hard way on Sunday August 9 at Silverstone (Great Britain). Remarkable 4th a week ago on the heels of Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), the Australian had a series of unpleasant surprises to finish 14th at the 70th anniversary GP.

Two phenomena explain this poor form, as he started from 5th place. First of all, a car that is uncomfortable with medium tires. “I don’t think we wanted to admit it but we knew deep down the medium tires were going to be a problem. We didn't have two sets of hard tires for the race.

Lap 36 // Third pitstop for Daniel, needed after his spin unfortunately. The crew fit used set of Mediums. #RSspirit #F170 pic.twitter.com/R1IyTNyV0q

- Renault F1 Team (@ RenaultF1Team) August 9

The first set of mids wasn't too bad. I could hang on to the Racing Points. But the second set of rubber did not work at all. I had to return prematurely to put on the hard tires. We were out of sync afterwards, and I was involved in a fight in which I should not have intervened in the peloton. » 

This is where the second factor comes in. “ A few years ago, I did a spin wanting to defend against (Carlos) Sainzthen I killed my tires in this story. » This mistake cost him another trip through the pits.

“In hindsight, we should have extended the first stint and only made one pit stop on the hard tyres. In short, a Sunday started with a lot of hope and little reward at the end. »

Find in issue 2273 of AUTOhebdo, available Monday evening digitally and Wednesday on newsstands, the analysis of the 70th anniversary GP by our special correspondent.