Daniel Ricciardo says he is at a loss to explain his lack of outright pace during last weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, after the Red Bull driver had to settle for a lacklustre 13th place finish at Montreal.
Lining up ninth on the grid, the Australian kept his position at the start but gradually faded away during the race. While Renault had expected to suffer on power-hungry Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Ricciardo still finished four spots behind team-mate Daniil Kvyat.
To add insult to injury, last year’s Canadian Grand Prix winner was even overhauled by F1 rookie Carlos Sainz in the sister Toro Rosso STR10 on Lap 55.
“I tried. I tried and nothing worked,” said Ricciardo. “We didn’t have pace. It is nearly a mirror race of 2013 for me. [Then Toro Rosso team-mate] Jean-Eric [Vergne] was sixth, his best result of the season, and I was like 15th.
“We were like a second slower and didn’t have any answers for it. The year after I won, and now I am struggling to keep up with anyone on track. So at the moment all I can do is laugh.”
“Race cars! They are complicated. Some days you do not understand them. Unfortunately we have not got on top of it all weekend. We didn’t expect to be that slow in the race. That was interesting, I know I wasn’t fighting for points, but I was still pushing and trying to get as much as I could out of it.
“It was just one of those races where you were going round and round, banging your head against the wall, and nothing good is coming out of it. I got lapped by a Williams. That is a pretty bad day for us.”
Ricciardo now occupies seventh position in the Drivers’ standings, while Red Bull is a distant fourth in the Constructor’s race.
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