Ricciardo's Monza misfortune: Penalties and pace issues
Monday, 2 September 2024
The Aussie enjoying some wheel-to-wheel action in the opening laps
Daniel Ricciardo faced a challenging Italian Grand Prix at Monza, finishing 13th after a race marred by penalties and lacklustre pace. The Australian driver's weekend was a mix of promising moments and unfortunate incidents, ultimately leaving him out of the points.
Ricciardo's race got off to a lively start, with the Aussie enjoying some wheel-to-wheel action in the opening laps. However, an early incident with Nico Hulkenberg in turn eight resulted in a 5-second penalty for the AlphaTauri driver. Ricciardo took responsibility for the collision, admitting he hadn't given Hulkenberg enough room despite believing there was space available.
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The penalty was just the beginning of Ricciardo's troubles. A pit stop error led to an additional 10-second penalty when the team failed to execute the first penalty correctly. These setbacks, combined with the car's overall lack of pace, made it a tough day at the office for the Perth-born racer.
Despite the difficulties, Ricciardo remained positive about his personal performance over the weekend. "Personally, I feel a lot better this weekend, and we were close to scoring points," he remarked, highlighting the progress made since his return to Formula 1®.
The race was particularly frustrating for AlphaTauri, as Ricciardo's teammate Yuki Tsunoda was forced to retire early due to damage sustained in a separate incident with Hulkenberg. This robbed the team of valuable data on their newly introduced update package, which had been fast-tracked for the Monza race.
Team Principal Laurent Mekies acknowledged the challenges faced during the race, stating, "We cannot hide the fact that, even without his penalties, it would have been difficult for Daniel to finish in the points." Mekies emphasized the need for a significant performance step to return to the front of the midfield.
Reflecting on his race, Ricciardo said, "Ultimately, we weren't quick enough today, even without the penalties. We tried, and I was enjoying the wheel-to-wheel racing at the start, but I made contact with Nico in turn eight." He added, "The car felt ok after, and we pushed as hard as we could with what we had. I was trying to get the maximum out of the car from Friday afternoon to today."
As the team looks ahead to the upcoming races in Baku and Singapore, they'll be hoping to leverage the data gathered from this weekend to improve their performance. For Ricciardo, the focus will be on building on the positives from Monza and aiming for a points finish in the coming races.
Daniel's Grand Prix by the numbers
- Qualified: 12th
- Race: 13th
- Fastest lap: 1min 24.219secs (17th), lap 52
- Points this event: 0
- Points this season: 12 (13th in world championship)
