Daniel Ricciardo was just unlucky at the Brazilian Grand Prix. After the first lap incident, Kevin Magnussen’s wheel went flying and landed on Daniel Ricciardo’s rear wing. This put him a lap behind all the other cars for the entire race.
Daniel Ricciardo has been performing well for AlphaTauri. All hope was lost for him after he was let go by McLaren. Although he was picked up by Red Bull as a reserve driver, he was not a part of the grid. However, midway through the season, he got a new lifeline as he replaced Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri.
Although he has not driven for many races yet for the team, he has delivered a few promising results. Ricciardo believes that he could have gotten another promising result in Brazil if not for the first lap incident. He blames his poor result on the FIA.
Daniel, expressing his frustration: “I think it exposed a flaw in the rules. I didn’t feel we ever did a racing lap and then you already start the race a lap down. So Oscar and I fell victim to that today.”pic.twitter.com/NjV5bfPNMZ
— meredith (@mereeedithh) November 5, 2023
“I think it exposed a flaw in the rules. I didn’t feel we ever did a racing lap and then you already start the race a lap down. So Oscar and I fell victim to that today.”
After the incident, Daniel Ricciardo and Oscar Piastri, who also had damage on his rear wing, had to go into the pits to fix them. In this process, they were a lap behind the rest of the pack. Even after the red flag, Ricciardo and Piastri were not allowed to unlap themselves before the restart.
Ricciardo feels that this was not fair and the FIA could have done better. Before the restart, Ricciardo came on the radio to vent out his frustrations on the FIA.
Was Daniel Ricciardo quicker than Max Verstappen at Brazilian GP?
After the Brazilian Grand Prix restarted, Daniel Ricciardo’s pace was good enough to beat the top 5. His teammate, Yuki Tsunoda also had a positive pace as he went on to finish 9th in the race. Although Daniel Ricciardo was a lap down, he was able to stay close to Yuki for the entire race.
There is no doubt that AlphaTauri would have had the chance for a double-point finish at the Brazilian Grand Prix. However, the FIA’s rules prevented that from happening. Although Riccardo’s pace was quick, he was nowhere near Max Verstappen’s pace.
“I think it was a piece of a tyre that got my rear wing” 😲
Daniel Ricciardo’s team radio after that hectic start 📻 pic.twitter.com/XaR6M3uMvA
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) November 5, 2023
Max Verstappen once again cruised on to the victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Although he didn’t face any challenge from his teammate, Sergio Perez, he did have a moment of weakness as Lando Norris tried to overtake him early on in the race. Perez was more busy trying to overtake Fernando Alonso for 3rd place.
Daniel Ricciardo is a very strong prospect to replace Perez at Red Bull. If this happens, he could have the opportunity to challenge Max Verstappen for the Championship. However, as it stands, Perez has a contract to drive for Red Bull until the end of the 2024 season. After this, we could see Daniel Ricciardo in the Red Bull.
Do you think Daniel Ricciardo can challenge Max Verstappen in the same car? Post your answers in the comment section below.