25/10/2022
NEWS STORY
Another poor outing leaves Daniel Ricciardo feeling "helpless", as he admits that to describe his feeling after Sunday's race as painful would be "an understatement".
It was another anonymous afternoon for the popular Australian, who is now unlikely to be on the grid next season.
Having been out-qualified by his teammate for the 17th time this season the previous day, Ricciardo, who started 15th was always going to have his work cut out. Then again, Esteban Ocon started from the pitlane and finished 10th, while Yuki Tsunoda started 19th and finished 9th... and then there's Fernando Alonso who started alongside Ricciardo.
On Thursday, riding a horse into the COTA paddock, his head held high, Ricciardo looked every bit the part, by Sunday evening he looked as though he was heading to the knackers yard.
"Last year was a struggle," he admitted, "but now I look back at last year, and I'm like, 'Oh, that's actually pretty good compared to this one'.
"I'm choosing to laugh because I don't really want to cry," he continued. "I'm still going to do what I can in the last three (races) but I'm at a point now where I'm not going to hope or think or expect that it's going to be an amazing last three races. I'll do what I can but days like today kind of leave you feeling a bit helpless."
Referring to his race, he said: "It's one of those ones where, like, it's happened all too often this year where, early in the race, I know... honestly, Lap 8, Lap 10... I know how the rest of the day is going to go. You can just feel it, you can also see what the other cars around can do, and simply what I'm not able to.
"If I knew, then the year would have would have been going better, but it's, again, not three, four tenths… even three, four tenths is massive," he admits. "I remember when I was with Max, three, four tenths and I'd be throwing things around in my room. But I'm seconds off nearly. It feels it feels so far off that. It's bizarre.
"When you think it can't get worse, it does," he added. "That's where, I don't know, I don't know how I'm continuing to continue because to say it's painful is an understatement.
"It's been the year that it's been... just so far off the pace, I simply can't lean on the car, I can't push, I can't get the time out of it. The inconsistency through the lap times, it shows that it really is a struggle, but to have such a really big margin again, it remains a mystery.
"I love Texas, I love Austin," he sighed, "but that race was not enjoyable for me."