Daniel Ricciardo is leaving Melbourne a very disappointed man, having endured a nightmare Australian Grand Prix. After his crash in Q3 on Saturday, the Red Bull driver was eventually forced to start from the pit lane, two laps down, when a gearbox problem stopped him on the way to the grid. Ricciardo then raced on until lap 26, when a separate issue with a fuel cell forced him to retire.
"Not the weekend I wanted at home," he said. "For all these things to happen at my home race, that's probably the most frustrating thing. We were on the back foot already after the crash in qualifying and then today we had an issue during the warm-up lap followed by a second issue in the race.
"On both occasions the car just came to a stop so I couldn't do anything else. But look it's the first race so hopefully we'll move forward from this."
Ricciardo is evidently ready to look ahead to the next race in China, but he still expressed appreciation for his home fans and the hard work of his team: "I feel for the fans. I'm sure they would have loved seeing me in action, but I feel super grateful for everyone that came this weekend and supported me."
"Even when I stopped they were still cheering and shouting my name. That goes a long way and it makes me stand here now feeling a lot better than if I didn't have that so I definitely appreciate their support.
"Also, the boys worked so many hours this weekend, and did a great job getting me out on the track again but unfortunately it hasn't come together for any of us."
Mason Hawker
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Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
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