SINGAPORE — Daniel Ricciardo missed the opportunity to make a statement in qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix as questions swirl over his Formula 1 future.
Ricciardo and RB looked strong in Friday practice but the Australian was unable to progress through Q1 — he will start Sunday’s race from 16th on the grid.
Teammate Yuki Tsunoda did make it to Q3 and will start from eighth.
Ricciardo’s status at the team is up in the air, with Liam Lawson looking likely to replace him next year. Some reports have even suggested that change could be made after the Singapore race.
Ricciardo had no answer for where his pace 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 evening.
When asked whether his Q1 exit was more frustrating given the current situation, Ricciardo said: “Yeah, of course. Like, it would be nice just to [make] a statement, but, yeah, obviously the Q1 thing sucks.
“So I don’t know … with all the s— going on, I honestly felt like it would be good today, so that’s why I’m more just like, how did we end up in Q1? So, yeah, I don’t know.”
He added: “Q1 sucks, especially when you don’t expect to be there. Obviously some races we’ve expected to be here, but after yesterday, didn’t think this would even be possible 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 said that if he finishes on the podium, the situation will look completely different. I totally 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 can’t just go from one race to another. Like, that’s not OK,” Ricciardo said. “But I did think today was going to be OK. Yeah, no, that’s… yeah, I’ll say no more.”
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 safety car. Bring Piquet back and let’s make it happen!”