Ricciardo: « I haven’t forgotten how to drive »
Distanced by Daniil Kvyat in Canada, the Australian still believes he is much faster than his teammate. He will be able to count on a new chassis in Austria, but could also face a ten-place grid penalty there.
The years follow one another but are not the same for Daniel Ricciardo. Last year, the Australian was the prince of the walls of Montreal, unexpectedly claiming a remarkable and well-deserved victory. Unfortunately, this year, Daniel Ricciardo was anonymous and transparent, significantly outpaced by Daniil Kvyat, who only managed to score two points for ninth place.
Could the Russian be a more than serious challenger for Daniel Ricciardo? The latter, questioned by *Auto Motor und Sport*, doesn’t believe it for a second: “I’m not a second slower than Kvyat, and I haven’t forgotten how to drive. It was like two years ago, when Vergne was faster than me on this track, and no one could explain it. A year later, I won the race; and this year, I found myself in the situation of 2013.”
The mystery of his setback in Canada seems very thick. Could it be the chassis? The hypothesis is plausible, but Daniel Ricciardo doesn’t believe it. He will have a new chassis for the next race: “I don’t know what happened, it was one of my worst races. But hey, I can still laugh about it, because it’s clear that an essential element was missing from this car. I don’t think it comes from the chassis, because I never aggressively attacked the curbs or hit the wall…”
Helmut Marko has already announced it: the long straights of the Red Bull Ring will not suit the Renault power unit at all. Daniel Ricciardo should therefore be patient before achieving a good result. This is especially true as both he and his teammate might be pushed back ten places on the grid. Renault is indeed considering, according to *Auto Motor und Sport*, installing a fifth different engine (instead of the four allowed) on both cars.
