Daniel Ricciardo says his Austrian Grand Prix was “undone” in the first few laps, after the Red Bull man experienced what appears to be an energy recovery issue on his Renault-powered RB12.
Lining up fifth on the grid, the Australian initially held his ground but then lost several positions over the opening laps, always in the same part of the circuit.
“The start was OK, but then we dropped back quite quickly,” Ricciardo told Sky Sports. “I think I got passed three times out of turn six and I came on the radio and said ‘I’m slow on this straight I don’t know what’s going on’.
“It felt like [it came from] how you manage the energy, how it pushes the power around the lap. It just seems like I was recovering a lot of energy, being slow on that straight.
“I’d pull out of turn six and pretty much when I’d already go to defend the cars were there so that was frustrating. Everything was undone in the first few laps.”
Although he eventually recovered to fifth, the 27-year-old admits he did not have the sort of pace that propelled team-mate Max Verstappen on the second step of the podium.
“After [these early troubles], we were able to get into a rhythm but we were not quick enough. On the re-start [after the Safety Car], I was behind Max but could not stay here and when everyone picked up the pace, we could not do any more. We definitely tried today but we were not fast enough, so we’ll look into it.”
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