Ricciardo, a fantastic overtake… then nothingness

Far behind the Ferrari de Charles Leclerc, another driver was also the victim of a failed strategy in Budapest. Daniel Ricciardo crossed the finish line of the Hungarian Grand Prix in a sad 15th place on Sunday, at the end of a race where “there were more downs than ups”, according to the confession of the person concerned.

The Australian nevertheless raced in the points over the first two thirds of the event. Starting 9th, he initially lost a few places at the start before recovering and returning to the Alpine. “The start went well but I lost a little after that (…). I felt like I was in a good place but I remember a Alpine which arrived at the top at the exit of the first turn. I had no more room so I had to go wide, otherwise I was going to lose a fin. I lost momentum and was also hit on the outside of the second turn. It was a bit of a mess in the first lap. »

Back in the top 10 after this little mishap, Daniel Ricciardo was in the running to seek new points after Austria and France. The pilot McLaren even gave some flashbacks to the spectators with a superb double overtaking on both Alpine. But managing the tires was not an easy task according to the Australian. “The soft tires really fell apart. The mids were a little better. I was able to make a nice double movement on the Alpines, which was fun. I managed to remember Stroll a little safe with the mids. »

“We just didn’t have any traction” admits Ricciardo

However, on lap 46, McLaren copied Ferrari's strategy with Charles Leclerc, putting hard tires on Ricciardo's MCL36. A failed strategic choice, since the native of Perth collapsed with the white tires, to the point of hitting Stroll at turn 2. “When we went out on the Hard, and he went out on the Soft, we just didn't have any grip. I tried to avoid contact but I couldn't and unfortunately I touched it, spun it and got penalized and that's it. »

Daniel Ricciardo was then penalized 5 seconds for the accident with the Canadian. Arriving 13th on the track, the Australian was finally classified 15th. A new disappointment while Lando Norris scored more points, in 7th place, to keep McLaren 4 points behindAlpine. “I'm looking forward to the break, of course, and I'll try to come back with a little more rhythm in the second half of the year”, declared the driver of the British team. A break which should not be easy while his seat is threatened at McLaren.

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