Ricciardo: “My hand is not an excuse”, harsh assessment of the driver on his return

The Australian driver, Daniel Ricciardo, spoke to Canal+, after his 15th place finish at the Grand Prix in Austin, for his return to F1. The AlphaTauri driver crossed the line last, far from the points and his teammate, the Japanese Yuki Tsunoda, who finished 8th, and with the fastest lap point. A poor performance that Ricciardo reflects on.

« My hand is not an excuse. […] I think it was a good thing that I came back. The timing was well chosen so that there was no hesitation or excuse », explains the pilot, who is returning from a hand fracture that kept him off the tracks for two months. A tough and harsh assessment of himself. A bad situation that is not due only to his own performance, according to him. « We were limited by brake duct damage. We suffered damage shortly after putting on the hard tires. That’s what caused us to lose a lot of pace ».

Significant damage, which even led to considering bringing the car back to the pits for Ricciardo. « We were in the hard with these damages. I was trying not to be too negative, but I told the guys that I couldn’t do anything and I suggested either bringing the car in, or fixing it and going back out. […] Even after the softs, the pace was improving, but nothing impressive, which meant there was surely still damage », the Australian declared.

But Ricciardo doesn’t only take away negatives, quite the contrary. « There are points that make me confident. I was in good physical shape. My hand was fine. Just in the first free practice session, I was able to push right away, from the first lap. There is certainly a psychological element in that. Let’s say that in race conditions, I will do better at the next Grand Prix ». So, see you this Sunday, at the Mexican Grand Prix.