‘I’ve been screwed two weekends in a row’ – Ricciardo

2016 Monaco Grand Prix

Posted on

| Written by

Daniel Ricciardo expressed his frustration after he lost a golden opportunity to win the Monaco Grand Prix following a disastrous pit stop that cost him crucial track position.

The pole sitter was in a strong position to resume in the lead after Lewis Hamilton pitted for dry tyres, but the Red Bull mechanics did not have new tyres ready when Ricciardo pitted, costing him many seconds and seeing him rejoin behind the Mercedes.

“I don’t even want to comment on the race, to be honest,” Ricciardo said after the race. “Two weekends in a row now, I’ve been screwed. It sucks. It hurts.

“I didn’t make the call, I was called into the box. They should’ve been ready. I don’t have anything else to say to be honest.”

Despite getting close to challenging Hamilton at multiple points during the long final stint, Ricciardo was unable to find a way past and had to settle for second place.

“I guess from the outside, we put on a show,” said Ricciardo. “Shouldn’t have been as exciting as it was, to be honest.

“I think we had the speed in the wet, at the start. We pulled away, pitted for Inters, and then we put ourselves in a race with Lewis which we didn’t need to. And then the pit stop was the pit stop, so.

I felt I was the quickest in all conditions, but second place doesn’t show for it.”

Author information

Will Wood
Will has been a RaceFans contributor since 2012 during which time he has covered F1 test sessions, launch events and interviewed drivers. He mainly...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

186 comments on “‘I’ve been screwed two weekends in a row’ – Ricciardo”

  1. Jup, that’s racing. Ask Nasr, Magnussen or even Vettel and Hulkenber who were stuck behind Massa.

    1. All those guys lost the race win because their team screwed up?

    2. The point is of course he never should have been stuck behind someone.

      1. If his pit stop went like it should have, even if it went slightly slow (he had 4 seconds to spare), he wouldn’t have been stuck behind someone at all. I’m really not sure what else he could have done. Magically teleport ahead of Hamilton?

  2. I wonder what is worse last year’s Mercedes blunder or this one by Red Bull. I am sure it’s pretty close. But I think this one is worse than last year’s blunder.

    1. Ric didn’t contribute to this one, so for the drivers the wouldn’t be any comparison.

      1. He steered the car into the pit box.

        1. Yes, but there was every reason to assume that the crew would be ready for him when he came in. The driver has to assume the pit crew will be ready for them when they’re called in. Stopping at that time, in and of itself, wasn’t a bad call — as stated above, there would’ve been several seconds to spare if it had been even a normally slow pit stop.

          1. As the driver also has every reason to assume his team can actually read the timings on their screens and not pit him if his gonna lose the lead.

    2. A timing error is bad – very bad – but understandable. A top flight F1 team not having tyres ready for a pitstop is inexcusable.

    3. @krichelle last years, definetly. This time it was a normal pit stop blunder. It happens to everyone.

      Last year, they pitted when they didn’t need to, gave track position with few laps to go, and not just gave up the win, but 2nd place as well, and both driver and team had contributed to it. This one was just a team error. A tough one tho!

    4. A communication error versus a bad decision.

    5. Mercedes blunder was far worse….Lewis completely dominated last years weekend, from practice, quali, and race…..Lewis was leading last years Grand Prix by 25 seconds, only to have the team completely leave him without a chance at victory at the end. At least Daniel had a chance to pass, as bad as the Red Bull team’s error was. And let’s not forget Lewis may have even been on pole if not for yet another malfunction on his side of the garage in qualifying.

    6. This one, as it was far more amateur than a split-second decision on pitting or not. Calling someone in and not being ready is crazy.

  3. I can’t disagree. Redbull really shot his foot. Twice in a row!

    1. Didn’t Red Bull made a similar mistake in Monaco before even when they were almost flawless during their championship winning years.

  4. Andre Furtado
    29th May 2016, 15:31

    Cry much? Save your tyres better next time.

    1. If you were watching the team fumbled his pit stop and that’s why he lost the lead to Hamilton.

    2. Andre that’s bit harsh, Dan has been done over by his team in 2 races..l am sure you feel bad about your low comment

    3. WillOfTheSupremo
      29th May 2016, 15:45

      Oh man, if this site had like/dislike options you would’ve been downvoted to oblivion, trust me..

    4. Bahaha… Good joke mate.

      Try harder, next time.

    5. Andre you don’t hide your favouritism do you! I’m putting my money if it happened to hamilton YOU’D be the one crying on this forum.

      Totally not fair and bias comment.

      1. Andre Furtado
        29th May 2016, 18:19

        Lol didn’t like Hamilton attitude either yesterday. But same point for both.

        1. Save it for YouTube mate

  5. Adam (@rocketpanda)
    29th May 2016, 15:32

    Feel for you big guy. Deserved that one. Still bad luck never stays, things will come good.

    Uncharacteristically sloppy from Red Bull though.

    1. +1 I agree, keep smiling Dan your luck will return:)

  6. RB should pay more attention to pit/race strategy. DR should have back2back wins. RB mgmt let DR down 2 races in a row.

    1. Absolutely correct, massive brain fade on the pit wall!

  7. The team must’ve changed their minds on the tire compound at the very last second. Usually Red Bull are so good on their pit stops.

    1. But the results show that any tyre choice would have been a winner for the car in the lead.

  8. If I was with Ferrari, I’d have a private chat with him today and take advantage of his current mood.

    1. I agree

      1. I agree as well but then Ferrari have been pretty mediocre this season really.

    2. @velocityboy To do what? Upset their own team by hiring two cocks in the henhouse?

      1. Aren’t there 2 in there now ?
        Kimi was the last Ferrari WDC if I’m not mistaken

        1. Kimi lost his mojo. Or maybe Ferrari isn’t good for his mojo because he seems to drive better with other teams.

    3. Wouldn’t Vettel want to block any such move?

      Ricciardo needed some fire in his belly. Hiring Verstappen has done that. At the same time Red Bull’s engine power looks to be coming back on line. While Ferrari are perpetual promise, Red Bull have delivered a lot more recently – and a lot. Moving away would be a serious, Alonso-shaped mistake.

      1. Vettel said time after time that he doesn´t care if Ferrari hire Ricciardo.
        All the things that Ricciardo is complaining today, happened to Vettel in 2014, a lot of times

        1. Though Vettel saying he’s cool with the idea may just reflect the fact he can’t actually prevent Ricciardo’s move to Ferrari, as he did (apparently) over Hamilton to Red Bull.

          Either way, I don’t see what Ricciardo gains from a move to Ferrari in the immediate future. We know RBR have the best or equal best car design still, so with a good engine, they could well be back ahead of Ferrari soon, if not already. Then team mates: Ricciardo may be better all round than Vettel, as shown by his season win over him, but unlike last time round, Vettel isn’t ready to go anywhere else. He’ll be a lot more difficult to beat. And while Verstappen may be good, his performance today shows he’s still a lot of maturing to do on track. Plus it’s still uncertain whether he’ll actually be any better than Ricciardo himself.

          1. Ricciardo more all round than Vettel, only because he “won”n in 2014?

            How many races did vettel abandon in 2014? Like Monaco, for instance…
            How many times did RB gave RIcciardo the best strategy as in Monza, Canada, Hungary? Did he complained back then?

            How many penalties did Vettel received due to use of more engines than allowed that prevented him to fight Ricciardo?

            Where was Ricciardo last year against Kvyat? How many races and podiums did vettel win last year with a completely new car that wasn´t built around him?

      2. Pat Ruadh (@fullcoursecaution)
        29th May 2016, 16:57

        Vettel has said publicly whilst he wouldn’t be dancing in the pitlane with him, he’d be happy to have Dan at the team. Whether this is true or not is another story, I’m sure he is wary of partnering the smiling assassin again, but Ferrari is his house now, and I would say he would be privately confident of beating him should they both be in red overalls.

      3. Ronald Gerzina
        30th May 2016, 5:14

        Maybe but I dont think Alonso is too worried I mean he gets $40 million per year. Nice if you can get it

    4. I think Merc should be having that chat.

      1. Agreed, what a team that would be.Anon.

  9. Clearly Red Bull are trying to force him out and make Max their no 1. They know they can’t make golden boy no 1 when they pair him with a clearly faster, more talented driver. Real shame, Dan is such a talent.

    1. That tin foil hat suits you, mate.

    2. +1000 It so smells like that!

    3. How many times has your more talented driver crashed this weekend?
      Come on man…. Max has won one race and he is all of a sudden he is the messiah of F1!!

      1. LooOoooOOoL He’s a crash talent! +1 kust to add that Verstappen only won because RIC was screwed by Red Bull as well.

      2. Golden boy is Max… He has been slaughtered so far by Dan in qualy so Red Bull are screwing him in the races so push Dan out.

        1. Let’s just wait and see. At first SAI was dominating Max in qualification as well but as VES got that little bit more of experience he started beating SAI two out of three times.

        2. What are you talking about, why would Red Bull have to ‘try’ to push Dan anywhere? They are his employer and can drop him any time they like (or move to Torro Rosso). Dan’s a perfectly decent driver and I’m sure RBR are happy with his performance and would like to keep him in the car alongside Max. The idea that just because they have Max they must now want rid of Dan makes no sense at all.

    4. Of course every team would loose tens of millions by falling in the WCC just to make their young drivers happy.
      *eyes rolling*

      1. You don’t think that the PR about Mr Youngest ever is generating Red Bull cash? How about tapping into the previously untapped Dutch market?

        1. You mean all the 17 million Dutchies? Haha, with your logic, Red Bull should put Hariyanto in the car. Indonesia has 250 million inhabitants.

          1. Incase you hadnt noticed Hary has been doing a pretty good job… and marketability/image is very important to all the top teams.

  10. I’m not sure if the mechanics didn’t notice the PIT indication on their big screen or if the engineers didn’t post it. Either way it was a crucial error that there was no feedback built into the system to tell the engineers the message hadn’t got across. System design error, really.

    Tough for Ricci, but at least he’s in a fast car now, and I daresay the team will fix it for the future.

  11. This is going to be an unpopular opinion, but I really don’t like his attitude in the last couple of races. Criticizing the team harshly after the Spanish GP, calling Raikkonen “**** of a bloke” after he blocked him in free practice (!) and now again he is criticizing the team, telling them to save their breath. I don’t think that this attitude helps anyone, and I’m quite surprised that he gets away with it.

    1. You get screwed by bullet proof strategy team TWICE in a row just about when “wonder boy” popped in and yeah i would be suspecting them. And he was screwed twice TODAY.

      1. @dex022 What is the incentive of not letting Ricciardo win when Max was completely out of the picture?

        1. Force him out the team

        2. I guess not let him reply back with a win and be as strong i guess and put him slowly in a number 2 role?
          No am not saying it is like that, am simply giving something as an answer since you asked for an incentive.

          Being so mad at them isn’t a good idea now they have their golden boy though. Helmut will love his boy more than anything no matter what Riccardo does but the rest of the team may stay in his side if he is well with them. Creating distance now is like giving the golden boy free pass to win the team over.

    2. Andre Furtado
      29th May 2016, 16:04

      I agree. He cries like a spoiled brat.

      1. Really? And what is of your opinion of Hamilton’s reaction last year?

        I think his attitude exhumes frustration. He knows he can do better, but is being held back by things not of his own doing. It’s easy to accept your own mistakes, but swallowing someone else’s mistake costing you is significantly more difficult.

        1. Michael Brown (@)
          29th May 2016, 17:40

          I suppose if his answer were offering that would make him the worst kind of person. That’s how diversionary comments like yours work.

        2. Andre Furtado
          29th May 2016, 18:22

          Same. I don’t like when drivers cry like this. Teams don’t do it on purpose. You win as a team. You lose as a team.

          1. @Andre Finally some wisdom in this thread…

      2. Andre is the number one ham fan! Wa da go buddy!!!

    3. He’s not the only driver to vent frustration. And won’t be last.

      You might need to toughen up a bit, and expect less.

      The human element he’s demonstrating is exactly what F1 needs. Not corporate robots singing scripted lines. All our historic F1 heroes have personality, and we loved them for it.

      1. +1 Absolutely.

    4. I think he’s clearly been under pressure with the Verstappen move, worrying whether he’s going to get Webbered maybe. But what’s been impressive is his response: he’s driving at another level. He might not like the signal Red Bull gave that he could be supplanted as number one, in the boss’s affections at least, but he’s showing his potential again after a bit of a lull. If the worst thing is his attitude, but his driving is improving, so what? The bad cloud will pass.

    5. @yobo01 I agree with you. I am a big Daniel Ric fan, I thought he did everything he could do this weekend, and I understand his disappointment and emotion, but his comments are selfish, and not those of a true leader. A leader would never say such things to the media about his team. His comments imply that he is the only one trying to win, and the team is letting him, and him ALONE, down. This disrespects the effort and feelings of everyone else. His mechanics are likely even more gutted than he is, as is likely whoever was responsible for the error. EVERYONE in Red Bull lost today. The drivers are the visible part of the team, but they ARE a PART of the team, and, as some have said before, “we win together and we lose together.” No one on a team should hang anyone else out to dry. Grow up, button your lip, and hash it out with your team in private. In the meantime, you can show your disappointment without throwing your team under the bus eg “they made the call, they should have been ready.”

      1. I’m sure you’re able to absolutely nail your emotions when you’re absolutely gutted and hurting.

        Hamilton does the same almost weekly, and he’s considered a “leader”.

        He said he didn’t want to talk about it, knowing full-well that he’d struggle to keep his emotions in check. But people keep pushing.

        1. Michael Brown (@)
          29th May 2016, 17:47

          People criticize Hamilton for his attitude and lifestyle, too.

          And can you formulate a comment without attacking the character of the person you’re replying to?

          1. Didn’t realise it was an attack to suggest a reality.

            Hamilton wears his heart on his sleeve and that’s okay. He was demonstratively unhappy after qualifying, and that’s okay given the circumstances.

            Although I wasn’t too happy to see Beiber next to the podium.

          2. Hamilton may wear his heart on his sleeve but Ricciardo was pretty disrespectful to his team. Hamilton has had numerous set backs this year due to the team and hasn’t said anything bad about them because of it. I think that is the difference people are getting at here.

        2. @Rhys L Emotions occur, they are automatic, no one “nails” them. But we do have a choice as to how we respond in those circumstances. And a big part of getting the best results possible in any high-stakes field is learning how to control one’s thoughts and actions when one is totally gutted and hurting, or totally angry, or even totally euphoric. And yes, my job and my life have often called on me to move beyond the emotions I’m feeling at the moment and act calmly and think clearly in highly emotional situations, because other people are depending on it.

      2. With respect @slowhands

        This is Monaco we’re talking about. This isn’t just any old race. I would only agree with you, as a fellow Ricciardo fan, if it happened at any other race.

        1. @crunch Thank you for the respect, and it is mutual. I’m not trivializing the moment. I completely understand Ricciardo’s angst, disbelief, even grief, at seeing his hard work and courage (eg how he attacked the swimming pool chicane on his pole lap, there was no space between his tires and the barrier on the exit, and he carried that extra speed through the entire final sector–that’s what got him pole IMO) betrayed by the team’s operational mis-management. Plus he realizes that Monaco and Barcelona presented possibly unique opportunities for Red Bull versus the dominant Merc. So I am in complete sympathy with his inability to hide the depth of his disappointment. It is not easy to control one’s words and actions in the face of such emotions, but to be trusted by one’s team, and to have them look to you to lead, you must do it. I don’t recall successful team leaders such as Prost, Schumacher, Vettel, or in other sports Brady, Manning, Murray (who also wears his heart on his sleeve) publicly blame their teammates/coaches. But perhaps Ric’s words betray deeper problems within the team that have surfaced with the Kvyat demotion/Verstappen promotion, as another poster has noted.

      3. I think that after the accolades afforded to Verstappen, Ricciardo is entitled to be unhappy. They have a strong track record of favouring Europeans over Australians.

      4. I am sure that, once his emotions have subsided a bit in a day or two, RIC will agree with everything you wrote there.

      5. @slowhands, are you suggesting that Dan should have allowed the press to speculate that he made a late call to pit and that was what lost RBR a certain race win ?

        1. @hohum The press is ALWAYS going to speculate and try to stir up drama and tension for the sake of having a story. Hence, no well-functioning organization gives priority to quelling press speculation, nor do they air differences in the press– you get behind closed doors, hash it out internally, apportion responsibility/blame privately, and then present the resolution publicly. Give your team a chance to own up themselves, don’t throw them under the bus. In these situations, it becomes clear after the debrief what happened, and teams then reveal publicly who or what was responsible for errors made, if they choose to do so. A public division between “me” and “the team” is a dangerous dynamic that does not lead to long term success.

      6. I don’t know. Reading your comment I was initially agreeing with you, but then I thought about how his team treats its drivers who make mistakes… See Kvyat. I guess the atmosphere, the cut-thoatness, in Red Bull invites such comments. RB expects the best from their drivers and hardly tolerates any mistakes from them as well.

        1. @daniel-chico That is a very interesting insight that I hadn’t thought about. You’re likely right about that. Daniel may be feeling the way Alonso did when Lewis was brought in to McLaren, feeling slighted that all the attention is being showered on the “golden boy” while his own accomplishments and experience are being ignored. So then a “team” versus “me” dynamic develops. It’s interesting that this dynamic is very recent– there were no such comments when Kvyat was his partner. Still, while a human reaction, my point remains: one MUST rise above such circumstances and through one’s behavior and professionalism, to both command respect and to show the team who the real leader is. There is simply no other way, the other path leads to failure in achieving one’s goals, as happened with Alonso.

    6. +1000 This wont be a popular thing to say. But we are starting to see some sharp edges to the ever-smiling Ricciardo. And it is not a nice look. As if he is so perfect and makes no mistakes. Talk it internally with your team, but calling your team out in such a public way is not good form.

      1. He has to be public. It’s political and puts pressure on Red Bull to up their game. This never happened with Vettel!

  12. Time to send DR’s pit crew back to Torro Rosso :)

    1. You mean, promote the Torro Rosso pitcrew.

    2. Hahaha! Love this comment.

  13. Burr l think RB trying to white ant Dan on purpose is a strong call, though l think Ves lack of experience and talent was exposed this weekend..RB know Dan is the talent in team this year.

    1. Lack of experience, yes. Lack of talent? Definitely not. He was the only one who was overtaking one after another without crashing into them or missing the corner. Sure those he overtook were all slower cars but this is Monaco. He was doing an excellent job until he crashed.

      1. Why was he having to overtake those slow cars in the first place?

        1. The same reason Alonso had to in Monaco 2010.

          1. Remind me? What happened? Did Alonso crash 3 times like golden boy?

      2. “Doing an excellent job until he crashed” Just like his father before him, although Jos was always in a slow car.

      3. Excellent Job till he crashed!!!! l am rolling in laughter here…hit the barrier 4 times and totalled his car twice and all in 2 days…. but he is a talent!! some of these posts have to be read to believed..

  14. Bayonet Hipshot
    29th May 2016, 15:57

    The Curse of the Australian Red Bull Driver, season 2. Featuring Danimark Webbardo.

    1. What are you on about?

      Webber won Monaco both times he had the chance. Ricciardo is a poor number 2 driver. ;)

      1. Poor number 2??? Baron, MW has already stated publicly that Dan is a better driver than he was in F1..l am glad you aren’t the talent spotter for f1 or we would have a grid full of Max Chilton’s

        1. @nosehair I’d probably agree with MW, but it’s not exactly the sort of bar Danny Ric is aiming for, I’m sure his sights are set quite a bit higher than Webber.

        2. @nosehair

          Wow. You’re an ignorant fellow aren’t you.
          You probably wouldn’t see sarcasm if it was written in massive text on the front of a bus that’s about to run you over.

          Very special.

  15. On another note, I don’t see how the stewards let HAM get away with crossing the chicane like he did. That should have gotten him a drive-through.

    1. Not really, it’s a simple lock-up that happens more often than you’d suspect, just off camera. People seem to think drivers never lock-up and drive all perfect but when you visit a race live, and camp at a high braking zone you quickly will know better. For example at the busstop two years ago only Rosberg his massive lock-up was shown on TV whilst almost half the field had proper lock-ups. He wasn’t in the midst of overtaking someone so no harm was done.

  16. It’s OK to cheat as long as your name is Lewis.

    1. And yes, the Ded Cow boys screwed up big time. But cutting the chicane was blatant.

    2. @henslayer Do you really believe what you write? Or is that just nonsense flowing out of your brain which afterwards you regret? How did he cheat to begin with…

    3. Must be because he’s black…

      Right?

      1. Baron l think you need your Mum to post for You, till your testes have descended…what has Lewis’s skin colour got to do with anything relating to F1 or about the race or what is being discussed here?????????????????????????????????

        1. The REAL Baron wishes to be disassociated with the fake Baron’s posts. Honestly dude, just sign up, register and get your own handle…

      2. I didn’t know Riccardo was black ?

    4. He missed a bit of the chicane while Ricciardo wasn’t even trying to overtake and afterwards he made only one clear move to the right to defend. Ricciardo had no grip in the wet to overtake and hence his frustration. I’m amazed it was even taken into consideration by the stewards.

    5. I think it was more likely that being the current World Champion Driver did help quite a lot. I thought Hamilton should have conceded the place to Ricciardo on the grounds his car went off the track, and other drivers who overtook doing such a thing were expected to concede the place. It looked like his car was off the track by at least half a metre at the chicane. I’m sure Mercedes’ lawyers will be expecting a bonus this month.
      However, as Daniel said, they got into a race with Lewis when they didn’t need to, and that is really the crux of the matter. If that pit stop had gone to plan, then it is almost certain Lewis would have been second, but it didn’t, so Ricciardo came out of the pits behind him. I couldn’t believe Red Bull had made that mistake.
      I don’t think Red Bull had much option in the previous race. Unfortunately this will reopen a wound that was just healing, and have salt rubbed in as well.

      1. “and other drivers who overtook doing such a thing were expected to concede the place.”

        The important bit there is overtook. Hamilton didnt overtake Ricciardo so why do you think he should give the place back? He was in the lead before the corner and Ricciardo wasn’t attempting an overtake.

  17. World class drive for Daniel. What a driver. If it wasn’t for that joke of a team he would have won the last two races and would be second, way ahead of Lewis with 86 points and in the fight for the title. What a shame.

    1. @liongalahad ‘Joke of a team’, won 4 titles in a row as the only privateer team since Williams in ’97…, the team that build the best chassis year in year out making it possible for Ricciardo to be up there to begin with.

      1. Of course, but in the past two races they threw away two victories with a driver that now could be second now and fully in the battle for the DWC. That is quite unforgivable, especially two times in a row, especially in Monaco

        1. @liongalahad I think many among us are a bit blind to the specifics of the last two tracks. The Red Bull was only faster in the last sector in Spain, and has a better chassis so it was predictable they would be faster here too. Even with the new engine I predict Ferrari back ahead come Canada.

          1. @xtwl Maybe. Still, these mistakes costed them, and Ricciardo, 20 points in two races. Canada will tell how much progress Renault has done with the engine compared to Mercs and Ferrari

      2. The joke of a team could be putting serious pressure on Mercedes, Rosberg and Hamilton but instead have screwed Dan twice. Mclaren have won more titles than everyone but Ferrari… But they’re a massive joke right now.

        1. Agree Red Bull tactics and execution are a joke

  18. Form thebuxtonblog, Ricciardo: “I felt like a spare dick at a wedding.”
    Is that an Aussie phrase or something?

    1. Tried to post a link. It’s British I believe, but Aussies share a lot of slang.

  19. That pitstop was a disaster but when Hamilton made a mistake Ricciardo chickened out. Hamilton left him enough room. So, just like last race, Ricciardo ruined his own chances as well.

    1. Chickened out? Hamilton was on the racing line, and definitely didn’t have enough grip to open the door for Ricciardo; let alone move off line onto the wet track to do so.

      Smart move backing out I say; would’ve been a collision otherwise. Even if Hamilton tried to give space, I double he would’ve been able to.

      1. *doubt – damn autocorrect

      2. Replays showed plenty room for Ricciardo. I’m not saying Ricciardo lost the race but he still could’ve gotten the win back after that poor stop.

        1. No traction off the racing line, which was where Lewis pushed him. Had Lewis not just cut the chicane, I say no problem. But to do that right after going off track defending position? Not on. Lucky to get away with that one.

        2. Apart from a 3 wheeler, have you ever been in control of any other form of propelled vehicle Baron?

    2. There was room but Ricciardo didn’t chicken out. That side of the track was wet. If he had gone for it, things probably would have ended very badly for him.

    3. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
      29th May 2016, 18:12

      @Baron That was a very good call by Ricciardo not to try to pass there – they would have both retired…

    4. Baron what race were u watching?

      1. He was.. in 3D

  20. Danny was screwed. Imagine the laughs that would have been directed at Manor if they had a car turn up only for no tyres to be ready. Let alone the team of the leading car, after he’d set a really quick in lap, and after they had called him in. No, Danny had every reason to be angry. Hell, I’m angry!

    How often do drivers get the chance of winning in a car which is not the class of the field? Not often. Yet to have two wins slip through your fingers through trusting your team to make the right call, only for their calls to be so incredibly wrong both times, costing you victory twice in a row through no fault of your own – how can Danny trust his engineers again?

    No, this is a screw up of monumental proportions. All RBR’s fault. You tell ’em Danny. They’d tell you if you threw away two wins on your own.

    Anyone know Ferrari’s number?

    1. Spot on. If he did this he’d be bounced to Torro Rosso so quickly

  21. yesssssss , its a mighty victory for all LH fans, but he did cut the same chicane after the tunnel gaining some advantage, once when DR came out of the pits changing from inters to ss and again when DR was mighty close to overtake LH, personally i felt DR drove the most perfect race and he would have been a worthy winner.

  22. Feel for DR

  23. Tought was not possible for Riccardo to stop smiling increidible redbull ……

  24. Hamilton had a much much much clearer victory last year than Ricciardo ever had this race, pulling away nearly 30s from his teammate, and demoted to third, not second, after a stupid decision from Mercedes, and if I recall well enough, he said on the podium “we win as a team, we lose as a team.”

    Also, if Ricciardo won today, it would’ve been thank to the engineers at Red Bull who made such an amazing chassis, his team. He didn’t build his own car and come here to race.

    The engineers don’t complain when drivers crash out on track, ruining months and years of their hardwork in the factory. So drivers shouldn’t complain the way Ricciardo is complaining when their teams make mistakes either.

    The drivers are part of the teams.

    1. +1000

    2. Track position is everything in Mônaco.
      He is completely right to complain. It was his to lose.
      And Hamilton was 15 ahead of Rosberg last year, not 30.

    3. Wow… You’re smart

    4. Omg!! LMAO!! @some of these posts

    5. I think Hamilton is better at handling team mistakes than Ricciardo through experience. I’m sure Ricciardo will get there, but I hope not in a hurry :-/

    6. You have to try and understand it from the point of view of Daniel. How often do you think will RB be in contention for victories this whole year? Hamilton had and still has the luxury of contending for wins every single race of the season because of the car his team has built for him (take nothing away from his skill as a driver). Daniel has very few chances, and this was probably his best opportunity to win. His next real opportunity won’t come until Singapore (or another slow circuit which I can’t think of right now). Wins are way more hard to come by when you’re in a team not called Mercedes AMG, making them feel way more valuable so it’s a lot harder to cope when it gets ripped away from your grasp.

    7. Tell that to Kvyat.

  25. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
    29th May 2016, 18:14

    Brutal for Ricciardo – I was the 1st to say how the pendulum has swung for whatever ridiculous reason and it’s hard to say it hasn’t when the team costs you 2 victories and one at Monaco. I’ve never seen Ricciardo like that and I feel for him.

  26. I guess the challenge for RIC, VES and Red Bull is to keep a cool head the remainder of this season. If they do, surely there’ll be a few more races that go their way this year.

  27. Still, he’s not been screwed as much as Hamilton this year. And a 4th and a 2nd’s not a disaster.
    But if they keep Geri Halliwell in charge of his strategy any longer, maybe it’s time to move on from Team Verstappen. I’d love to see him in a Ferrari.

    1. Ferrari need that yes. But now he is smilling less and less.

      This weekend was serius for him. Laying down your gauntlet in Monaco, where every mistake, can be the end of your race…

    2. @bullfrog, I’d prefer to see him in a winning team, even if it’s RBR.

  28. Is Daniel becoming a cry baby?
    Could not even overtake a guy on 40+ rounds of ultra softs.

    Take it like a man and look at where you failed yourself.

    Hamilton was fantastic.

    Wonder if Pirelli is lying about their tires.

    1. Btw Daniel, you put on a “no show”.

    2. Hamilton, Rosberg and Vettel have cried a lot more times than Ricciardo. What a hypocritical statement.

    3. What an absurd comment. Are you new to racing?

  29. I think there’s some complete rubbish that’s written here about Daniel. There is not a driver on the grid today who would not have made some kind of public comment on the pit stop mess up. I mean they called him in for the stop and he was sat there for 13 seconds! Who would not be frustrated. Of course it’s two races in a row that they have completely messed up his race strategy. Also there is no way he could have tried to go on with that overtake on Hamilton just after the swimming pool. If he had taken both of them out, imagine the reaction then.
    On the other hand I doubt very much if this is some sort of deliberate strategy by RBR. Why would they? With him and Versteppen in the team they have two potential winners.

    1. +1 all this.

  30. Dear Red Bull,

    Thank you!

    Signed,
    Mercedes Fan

  31. Looks like in Canada, we gonna see some mo middle fingaz ;)

  32. Defeat snatched from the jaws of victory.

  33. For all his faults, Lewis either bites his tongue or goes with the “we win as a team and we lose as a team” line. Ricciardo did neither of those things today and as much as you can blame the heat-of-the-moment, I have to say that I lost a lot of respect for him today. Even SV in his most petulant of times would have avoided such comments.

    1. In a professional football team you don’t do this, because it destroys team spirit.
      Daniel seems to be all about ME. Not a team guy.

    2. Hamilton and Vettel have also cried a lot in the past and have said worse things than what Ricciardo has said today.

      1. Yeah, and they’ve both matured. I think it’s an experience thing which can only come with time. People quickly forget what they were like as teenagers.

      2. @ultimateuzair
        ricciardo’s whole thing was he was mr happy go lucky, always had a smile on his face, and positive things to say!

        All the more rewarding it is to see the smile knocked off his face!

        He still made the podium, hes still getting paid to drive formula1 cars! A little perspective goes a long way!

      3. Maybe you right, but I don’t remember Vettel saying his team screwed him on live television.

      4. Hamilton and Vettel are 3 and 4 times world CHAMPIONS, not 3 times race winers and i´m yet to see Vettel do comments like Ricciardo did yesterday, he NEVER did anything similar, even in 2014.

  34. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
    29th May 2016, 23:21

    I think he only said that he was screwed twice – he wasn’t wrong and Red Bull is not the kind of team that forgives its drivers – it should hold itself to the same standards as its drivers…

  35. Ricciardo would be only 20 points behind Rosberg if it wasn’t these last two races. Now he’s 40. it means he lost 20 points in the last two races.
    Felipe Massa lost the 2008 Championship because of errors from Ferrari.
    It surely must be the hardest feeling for a driver when you loose golden points because of your team.

  36. ‘I’ve been screwed two weekends in a row’ – Ricciardo

    I’m married and dont see that kinda action – Greg-C

    1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
      30th May 2016, 4:49

      +1 lol – nice one!

  37. Lee Porcelli
    30th May 2016, 3:59

    Feel for Daniel . Terrible error by Red Bull. He does have the right to speak the obvious.Red Bull can be brutal in their driver employment relating to performance etc / RB were well below par. He has dragged the car to the finish line for the the last two years making very few errors race after race.Monaco is a very special race and to lose this way would be devastating . Good on him for stating the bleeding obvious.

    1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
      30th May 2016, 4:58

      I agree with you because I always felt that Mark Webber wasn’t vocal enough in public. I think he chose to use snide remarks like “not bad for a #2 driver” but that essentially cemented him as a #2 driver early on. I think that Red Bull has been thinking that no driver would ever dare leave them but they suffered their 1st defection when Vettel left and it was a massive one. Ricciardo is a likable chap and a great driver but the results of the last 2 races came at the worst possible time and with the worst possible outcome from Ricciardo’s perspective for the newcomer in the last race. When you think of Red Bull, you think of many things but loyalty to their drivers will never cross your mind.

      You might be on track to win the WDC and WCC on the last lap and you are suddenly off the list and many not even know why:-)

  38. Daniel is one of the most talented, if not the most on the grid. The team screw up on today’s race is because that nazi (Marko) and the team are giving toooooo much attention to Verstappen. They are doing the same they did to Mark Weber. It seems they don’t like Australian drivers. Once RB chooses a favourite, the other driver is dammed. Verstappen is really promising driver, but the crash today shows he is not ready yet. In the other hand Daniel, with the right car he is ready, and has the potential to become a World Champion. The media does not give the fair credit to his driving skills. Even Bottas (which I consider the most overrated driver in the last 20 years) gets more compliments from the media.

    1. @mauromori Daniel Ricciardo is a very long way from being the best driver on the grid. I can think of at least 5 who I rate more highly:

      Sebastian Vettel
      Lewis Hamilton
      Fernando Alonso
      Max Verstappen (he’s just lacking experience, plus it’s only his second race for the team)
      Jenson Button

      1. Oh David that is tripe!!!

  39. I don’t know why some people suggesting that Ric should just shut up. The team just rob him 2 wins and this one is pure incompetence. Look, they showered a lot of praise to Max for that one win, not the team, but Max. Now that Ric got screwed, some people say he should just talk about it behind closed door. I really don’t understand how some of these people think. It doesn’t make Ric look less professional because he is simply stating based on facts and everyone knows it, but it does make him look that he is hungry for success, which is a good trait for a driver.
    What I don’t really like is if a driver stated or at least implying that the team screwed him up but in fact it is purely bad luck.

  40. Understandably DR is disappointed. But DR – being unsmiling on podium and openly critical to his team – showed he’s immature, to say the least. LH was very complementary towards DR, DR reacted as though he was entitled to it. LH, you showed good manner, but don’t do it anymore. They don’t appreciate your praises. Just win & trash them all! The reality is DR hasn’t been that special. He showed a bit of talent when Seb was not in his best form. Because F1 has been so desperate for anyone other than LH to heap praises on, they latched on to DR before MV came to the scene. Oftentimes, DR was overly aggressive showing much less refined race craft but the fans & the press prefer to dress all these as DR having great talent. DR is fast but so was Pastor M. In fact, DR is more like Maldonado light! This Sun & Barcelona showed DR acted like a child, arrogant, ungrateful, inelegant in expressing his disappointment & worst of all, he bought his own hype that he was one of the best. F1 fans & press have overstated your talent, ignoring you for stitching up Kvyat (remember your back stabbing DK in Sochi?). As for red Bull, Marko & Horner were still reeling that their golden boy embarrassed them so spectacularly that they were distracted. They didn’t give 100% to DR’s race situation. When would F1 at least try to analyse drivers beyond superficial things, such as, someone being nice, friendly or cool, or having broad smile?

    1. +10000

    2. Lee Porcelli
      30th May 2016, 13:23

      Rubbish.

  41. The fact that Ricciardo has been robbed twice now and twice in the last two grand prix gives him a right to be upset. Did he go overboard in Monaco? Maybe but from a fans view that’s what I want to see. I love the raw emotion and nowadays you rarely see it from these drivers who are almost programmed like robots on what to say and how to say it in certain situations.

    The only thing I didn’t like was when he said he doesn’t know where he’ll go from here. He needs to go to Montreal on a mission and the rest of the season hopefully getting a win or two and showing his talent.

Comments are closed.