Daniel Ricciardo
McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo has described the crash that ended his 2 free practice sessions at the Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix.
The Australian only made two laps before touching the barrier in the Pool section.
He drew the red flag when the affected MCL36 was lifted with the crane and repairs were made to the Tecpro block pierced by the nose of the car.
“Obviously it happens fast, but it also slowed down,” Ricciardo explained.
“I knew everything that was going on and I tried to save it, but already on turn 13 I started to lose it, I feel like the car was starting to pull away.
“A little weird,” he said.
“Normally you could probably pick up a few things, maybe on turn 14 on the sidewalk if you get a little too greedy and the car unloads.
“Honestly, we just pushed a few things with the setup, but we probably went a little too far in a couple of areas.
“I did my best to save him. We couldn’t. I know they’ll fix it [the car]we obviously missed the whole session, but I’m fine. “
What Ricciardo had on Friday in Monaco, along with that of his teammate Lando Norris, suggested that the McLaren package is working well this weekend.
Norris finished the day with the fifth best time, after taking the same place in the free practice 1.
Ricciardo was seventh in the first 60-minute hit, prompting optimism for a positive result despite Friday’s fall.
“We never really know how you’re going to get around in terms of, whether you’re in that midfield scrap, or you’re in the front of the back,” he explained.
“But I think today we’ve at least shown that we’re going to be relatively competitive around here.”
The Monaco Grand Prix weekend continues with 3 free practice sessions at 9pm AEST, followed by qualifying at midnight.