F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Ricciardo hopes to avoid grid penalties at Hungary

Daniel Ricciardo is optimistic that he won't go into this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix compromised by more starting grid penalties.

The Australian started from the back row in Germany after opting to take on several new power unit components which put him over his permitted quota for the 2018 season.

Even so, he fought his way back to sixth place during the early laps of race only to be forced to retire on lap 27. That raised fears that more new components would be needed at the Hungaroring - meaning more penalties.

But a Red Bull spokesman told BBC Sport that the team did not expect that to be the case.

He said that the part that failed at Hockenheim would be "replaced with one of our quota". He declined to specify which part had failed on Sunday.

The news will be a boost to Ricciardo, who has targeted Hungary as his best chance to claim what would be his third Grand Prix win of the season.

The tight and twisty track suits the Red Bull better than power-hungry circuits like Silverstone. But the circuit's nature also makes it difficult to overtake, meaning grid penalties would be especially damaging to his hopes.

Frustrated Ricciardo decides to just 'roll with the punches'

"I like the Hungarian Grand Prix," said Ricciardo. "Everyone always says it’s Monaco without walls, but it’s not, it’s Hungary!

"It’s fast, it’s normally really hot," he continued. "Even though it’s a tight track there’s still quite a lot of overtaking and always a bit going on.

"The middle sector is one of the best of the whole year," he added. "It’s pretty fast with really quick changes in direction.

"The track used to be pretty bumpy but it’s improved a lot recently."

Ricciardo also rated Budapest itself, saying it's a good venue for Formula 1 to mark the start of its summer shutdown and month-long break.

"I’ve always liked the circuit but the city is also really cool," he said.

"Because it’s just before the summer break there’s also always a good feeling in the paddock before everyone takes a well-earned holiday.

"Budapest is amazing; it’s very pretty, there’s really good food and I always enjoy spending time in the city centre."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.