A tough weekend for Daniel Ricciardo in Turkey

It was a weekend to forget for Daniel Ricciardo.

The Australian and the team had a difficult weekend at the Turkish Grand Prix with a 13^th place finishing, with no championship points gained.

It was always going to be a tough weekend with the Istanbul Park Circuit not being a track particularly suited to the McLaren. On top of that, the team used an early exit in Qualifying to replace the internal combustion engine, turbo and Motor Generator Unit Heat, resulting in a grid penalty.

The strategic decision to take new car parts didn't quite make the car fast enough to get himself back into points, with Ricciardo able to make it into 11^th place before losing two positions to the Alfa Romeo's.

"I think we had maybe four laps in the race where we had good pace but the rest was hard. In the beginning we struggled a lot with front grip, so it was really hard to stay close to the others, and then we pitted for a new tyre.

"After that I didn't have great rear grip to start and was struggling but after a while it came good. We had probably four good laps in that stint where I could feel like I could really push on the tyre, which was what I was looking for.

Of the entire race, that was the positive. I got a bit excited because I thought maybe it will just keep getting better and better, but it lasted four laps and then the rear dropped away again, so the last ten laps were a bit painful, just trying to hang on.

"Obviously, we were fighting for the points and that strategy was our best chance, but it was just really unpredictable. I know others went longer, with one going the entire race on one set, but at the end I saw my tyres and they were on their last legs.

Unfortunately, it wasn't a strong race but we'll try to analyse it. On the positive side, we've got plenty of brisket to eat very soon. That makes me happy, bring on Austin!"

The next round of the championships will take place in the United States on the 22-24 October.

P13 for @danielricciardo 🇦🇺

An early pit stop put the Aussie on the brink of reaching the points, but he couldn't convert today. #TurkishGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/z7saEjfQva

— F1 Australian Grand Prix (@ausgrandprix) October 10, 2021