Ricciardo on power loss: I was in wrong engine mode

Daniel Ricciardo has revealed the power loss he suffered in the second practice for the Austrian Grand Prix happened because his Red Bull R12 was still in the engine mode used in the wet.

Heavy rain swept across the Red Bull Ring 10 minutes into the afternoon session, with all drivers quickly retreating to the pits. Improving conditions then allowed drivers to head back out on track, first on the intermediate tyres and finally on slicks.

But as Ricciardo set off for a final run on the ultrasoft compound, the Australian immediately reported a loss of power on his car.

“When I left the pits I commented I didn’t have power but I was just in the wrong mode setting,” Ricciardo explained afterwards. “I was still carried over from the wet. So I changed that and she was good.”

Despite the mishap, Ricciardo, who is celebrating his 27th birthday on this date, is still pleased with his showing in Friday practice, having placed fifth in both sessions.

“We had a pretty good day actually,” he said. “This morning we got up to speed quickly. And this afternoon the conditions were mixed, but we were able to extract good lap times from the car early.

“We didn’t fight the car too much today. We know that it is not our strongest circuit. But looking at how we went today we can be quite happy.”

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