31/03/2021
NEWS STORY
McLaren confirms that floor damage incurred in his clash with Pierre Gasly on Sunday compromised Daniel Ricciardo's race.
The clash happened at the restart following the safety car period brought about by Nikita Mazepin's early demise.
While teammate Lando Norris was able to get past the AlphaTauri cleanly at the restart, Riccardo and the Frenchman clashed, destroying the Frenchman's front wing and sending him wide in the process.
While Gasly immediately pitted for a new wing, Ricciardo continued, and though able to finish seventh, at race end the Australian was clearly frustrated.
"I wasn't that impressed with my race," he admitted. "We couldn't find the pace, so every time I tried to get a bit more out of it, it wasn't really there, but I think there's plenty to take from the race, plenty to learn from. If what I felt was an OK race ended with a P7, we're looking alright."
However, the team subsequently revealed that the Australian had incurred floor damage in the clash, thereby costing Ricciardo precious downforce.
"Post-race we found damage to Daniel's floor from the impact of Pierre running into the back of his car at the beginning of the race," said team boss, Andreas Seidl.
"The level of damage cost a considerable amount of downforce," he added. "Despite the performance loss Daniel used his experience to cope with the issues and score important points for the team."