SINGAPORE — Daniel Ricciardo missed the chance to make an announcement in qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix as questions swirl over his Formula 1 future.
Ricciardo and RB appeared robust in Friday follow however the Australian was unable to progress by Q1 — he'll begin Sunday's race from sixteenth on the grid.
Teammate Yuki Tsunoda did make it to Q3 and will begin from eighth.
Ricciardo's standing at the group is up within the air, with Liam Lawson trying prone to substitute him subsequent 12 months. Some experiences have even recommended that change may very well be made after the Singapore race.
Ricciardo had no reply for the place his tempo had gone in qualifying.
“I try to be optimistic, but today was a very pessimistic day, so I might go drown in my ice bath,” Ricciardo jokingly quipped on Saturday night.
When requested whether or not his Q1 exit was extra irritating given the present state of affairs, Ricciardo stated: “Yeah, of course. Like, it would be nice just to [make] a statement, but, yeah, obviously the Q1 thing sucks.
“So I do not know … with all of the s— happening, I actually felt like it will be good at the moment, in order that's why I'm extra identical to, how did we find yourself in Q1? So, yeah, I do not know.”
He added: “Q1 sucks, particularly when you do not count on to be there. Obviously some races we have anticipated to be right here, however after yesterday, did not suppose this might even be potential with a s— lap.”
One moment in his media pen interview suggested a level of irritation with how things have been playing out behind the scenes at RB and Red Bull.
On Friday, Red Bull racing advisor Helmut Marko responded to an off-the-cuff remark Ricciardo made the day before about the fickle nature of F1 — essentially that while one day you're on the chopping block, if he were to score a big result such as a podium, he would be back in the frame to replace Sergio Perez.
Marko seemed to suggest only that kind of result would save Ricciardo.
“He stated that if he finishes on the rostrum, the state of affairs will look fully completely different. I completely agree with him,” Marko told ORF.
Ricciardo's body language changed when Marko's comments were put to him in the media pen after qualifying. The Australian turned to one side, thought about his answer for a while and then was clearly being careful in how he worded his reply.
“You cannot simply go from one race to a different. Like, that is not OK,” Ricciardo said. “But I did suppose at the moment was going to be OK. Yeah, no, that is… yeah, I'll say no extra.”
Singapore is one of the most difficult races for overtaking, meaning Ricciardo's prospects from 16th on the grid look bleak.
The eight-time race winner joked about the race venue's most infamous moment, when Nelson Piquet Jr. conspired with Renault to crash so that then-teammate Fernando Alonso could benefit from a safety car and win the race.
The incident was dubbed Crashgate.
Asked what he needed to score some points on Sunday, Ricciardo laughed and said: “Hopefully a well-timed security automobile. Bring Piquet again and let's make it occur!”
