Ricciardo: “Let Gasly drive my car, I don’t want it anymore!”
Daniel Ricciardo was once again forced to retire during the Mexican Grand Prix while he seemed to be headed for a second place and securing a one-two finish for his team. Completely gutted by his persistent bad luck, the Australian no longer even wants to finish this nightmarish season.
Starting from pole position at the Mexican Grand Prix after a legendary lap that wiped the smile from Max Verstappen’s face, Daniel Ricciardo experienced a more complicated race with a completely botched start and eventually retired due to a clutch problem a few laps from the end while holding second place.
Another negative result for the Red Bull driver who records his 8th retirement of the year, a 2018 record he shares with Fernando Alonso: « I think the word frustration isn’t even strong enough anymore. Hopelessness would be more fitting. Another problem with this car… I haven’t had a clean weekend for too long. Even this afternoon [yesterday]. All weekend, my practice starts were good. But for the race start, the pre-start goes all wrong. Just things that happen on Sunday for which I have no more explanation. Let Gasly drive my car, I don’t want it anymore! » stated the disheartened Australian.
By consistently stringing together poor results and withdrawals, Ricciardo is on the verge of giving up for the last two Grand Prix races: « Everything seems hopeless. You know, honestly, where I stand, I don’t see the point of coming on Sunday, I don’t see the point of doing the next two races. I haven’t had a clean race or weekend in a long time. I’m not superstitious or all that crap, but… the car is cursed. I have no other words. »
If it seems unlikely that Red Bull will decide to let Ricciardo go to replace him with Pierre Gasly – who is set to race next year, for the next two races, the Australian will need to regroup to finish the season and his collaboration with the Austrian team on a positive note.
An 8th DNF of the season for Daniel Ricciardo in Mexico 😢
And he didn’t hide his frustration> https://t.co/PPVNzLOuaQ pic.twitter.com/9fWXSruoRn
— Formula 1 (@F1) 29 octobre 2018
