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Daniel Ricciardo says that there is no point turning up at the remaining races following yet another retirement. The Australian recorded his eighth DNF of the season in Mexico, pulling over to the side of the track while holding off Sebastian Vettel for second place.
Ricciardo started the day on pole position but found himself in third place heading into Turn 1 after being jumped by teammate Max Verstappen and the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton. He only made one stop, while those around him came into the pit lane twice.
The Renault-bound driver was on for his first podium since his victory at Monaco, but his hopes were dashed when a puff of smoke was spotted coming from his car, before he pulled up and jumped out of the RB14 moments later.
"I don’t even think frustration’s a word anymore, everything just feels hopeless,” Ricciardo said. “I honestly don’t know, where I am, I honestly don’t see the point of coming on Sunday, I don’t see the point in doing the next two races.
“I haven’t had a clean race, weekend, in so long. I’m not superstitious or any of this bullshit but the car’s cursed… I don’t know. No words. Helpless think is the best word. I'll let [Pierre] Gasly drive it, I'm done with it."
Grand Prix of Belgium
G. Zhou
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Replies (16)
Login to replyf1dave
Posts: 782
Smart man.
warhoward
Posts: 3
That'll spice up the last 2 races now that the Championship is over.
RIC to Renault, Sainz to McLaren, Gasly to Red Bull, Ocon to Torro Rosso, Stroll to Force India, Kubica to Williams. Alonso to walk away.
Leave Ferrari and Merc to fight out the constructors championship.
LuXe
Posts: 20
imagine every transfer would go live in the last two rounds lol
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
Damn shame
sadosalo
Posts: 198
Renault money bites him in the a$$ in 2019 again.
Olfacius
Posts: 31
What a rubbish year he's had, apart from the Monaco win. It's gonna be good to see what develops over the next few years for the kid. Here's hoping for solid finishes if nothing else.
boudy
Posts: 1,168
It's horrible if you get the issues that he is getting. However he was fairly beaten by an quicker teammate, I think that it's time to leave also but for different reason. He will need to regroup and establish himself as the lead driver in Renault. As much as he wants to now will be the wrong time, Redbull wouldn't put him in a torro rosso since the will not want the competition to know anything about the Honda PU setup. Also it will take a little time to get used to the Renault and the Renault is having the same issues with their car so he would only go backwards.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Easier said than done though, he is up againt the Hulk. A competitive and dominant driver, just as much a diva as the likes of Vettel and Hammy.
boudy
Posts: 1,168
Agreed. Hulk seems to be going through teammates like they are candy.
LightIsRight
Posts: 113
Hulkenburg is my top underrated driver on the grid. If he ever gets a championship potential car...
I think RIC is going to have to bring his A game.
mcbhargav
Posts: 1,332
Hulk is indeed very good driver. But, a podium-less career is a blemish, hard to ignore. Hope, he gets a win or a podium in 2019.
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
@Calle @boudy @Light @Mc
Hulkenberg is definitely close to a breakthrough (aka podium), and he is a top driver most of the time. But he also makes key errors forced and unforced. He should have at least 3 podiums in his tally. That being said, other than Baku, his driving has been pretty flawless this year. Still, I don't think he will match Ricciardo on most weekends. It will be arguably the most exciting pairing to watch.Maybe Leclerc will surprise and not be a #2. But as for the rest, Bottas and Gasly will be clear 2nd drivers in my opinion.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Oh yes I think Ric will beat him too, but my point is that if Ric goes to Renault expecting to get first driver status for free, he might get a bit disappointed.
talktohenry
Posts: 362
Wait until he's stuck in midfield all year nest year, then Honda finally get their act together. He's a buffoon leaving RB.
blade
Posts: 341
Pretty sure renault will get it right. It's embarrassing for them and it cannot continue. I think Ric is right to leave as RB have clearly favoured Verstappen - maybe not in the engineering side, but certainly the way they announced they would build a tram around him 0- how did RB think that would go down for christ's sake?> Disagree he's been totally outclassed by Verstappen also - 8 DNFs masks a lot of 'what if's' - it's been a shocker and RB need to explain how these issues have almost only affected Ric - it doesn't make sense to me. I think he is not right in saying won't drive the final two races - babyish and needs to look at Alonso who has been handling a crap car for 3 seasons ! This ironically won't harm him one bit going into Renault - he will be buzzing and on fire by time first race in 19 - I think he will beat the Hulk over a season, no problem.
boudy
Posts: 1,168
I like Ricciardo however he hasn't been able to stop Verstappen in qualifying or races. In general what happens in teams is that the better people gravitate towards the better drivers. I don't even think this is an conscious decision just the way an team interacts. Also if you leave a team it will be only natural for him to be frozen out of certain information streams/decisions. I don't think that the DNFs were deliberate just very unlucky. But if even if he had finished all those DNF races he was behind Verstappen in majority of those like in Mexico. The difference between Verstappen and him in qualifying is one of the biggest in F1 (time wise) and the major influence on reasoning for Ricciardo leaving RB is based on having such an strong teammate. If Verstappen was not there he wouldn't be leaving towards Renault. I would have liked him to stay at Redbull since he would have had more opportunities to win races but I understand his need for change.