Daniel Ricciardo’s early elimination from Saturday’s Singapore Grand Prix qualifying will inevitably add fuel to the fire surrounding the Aussie’s uncertain future in Formula 1.
The RB driver’s performance that left him lingering in Q1 was far from inspiring, especially as teammate Yuki Tsunoda managed to break into Q3 to secure a spot in 8th position on Sunday’s grid at Marina Bay.
Despite the mounting pressure linked to his precarious future, Ricciardo seemed optimistic on Friday after a promising performance had seen both RB drivers conclude their day among the top six.
However, Ricciardo’s fortunes took a turn for the worse from the outset of Saturday’s running, and especially when running on Pirelli’s soft compound rubber.
The 35-year-old F1 veteran was taken aback by the overnight drop in pace as no significant changes had been carried out on his car.
"We didn't really change much," Ricciardo explained. "We were in a good place yesterday so we were pretty upbeat about it, we weren't chasing our tail.
"Honestly, the medium this morning was good, it felt like we started off on the same foot as yesterday, but then I put the soft on and I was nowhere.
"So we did a bit of fine-tuning for quali and I thought we would be OK, but again, I wasn't comfortable on the soft.
"It was... I would say miserable because we were somewhere yesterday, genuinely, and we didn't expect... there wasn't any big mistakes, but I knew when I crossed the line that it wasn't quick. It just didn't feel that nice.
“This morning, you could say that 'oh that soft didn't work', but we had three of them today and we weren't competitive on any of them."
With speculation about his future casting a shadow over the weekend, Ricciardo admitted the disappointing result stung even more.
"Yeah, of course it would be nice just to leave a statement,” he said.
"Obviously, the Q1 thing, that sucks. With all the s*** going on, I honestly felt [it] would be good today. So that's why I'm more just like, how did we end up [out] in Q1?
"I try to be optimistic but today was a very pessimistic day, so I'll go drown in my ice bath."
The situation has left Ricciardo grasping for straws, even jokingly referencing the infamous crashgate scandal that helped Fernando Alonso win the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, when his then-Renault teammate Nelson Piquet Jr. deliberately crashed to trigger a safety car.
"Hopefully, [we get] a well-timed safety car," Ricciardo joked. "Bring Piquet back, and let's make it happen!"
The Australian will be hoping to turn things around on race day, but for now, he’s left to reflect on what might have been—and what could still be if luck, or perhaps a strategic safety car, goes his way.
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