Daniel Ricciardo has labelled his eighth-place finish at the Brazilian Grand Prix as “a frustrating race”, with the Red Bull driver having to deal with a visor problem that “held me back” in treacherous weather conditions.
On a day when team-mate Max Verstappen starred with a sensational series of overtakes in the final laps, Ricciardo could not make the same kind of recovery after he too dropped down the order as Red Bull’s gamble with the intermediate tyre did not work out.
“It was a frustrating race, we never really felt like we got lucky with the strategy; every time we made a change with the tyres there was a safety car or a red flag,” said the Australian, who also had to overcome a five-second time penalty for pitting when the pit entry was closed under the second of five Safety Cars.
“We lost positions and obviously we could not predict what was going to happen and we felt a little bit on the back foot.
“But the real difficulty today was my visibility, which was a struggle as my visor kept fogging up. I kept opening my visor and trying to wipe it but it’s never happened before, and it held me back. It’s a shame as the car was a lot better than eighth, when we had a clear track our speed was good.”
Combined with Verstappen’s podium, Ricciardo’s result is nonetheless enough for Red Bull to secure second place in the Constructors’ championship after a wild Interlagos contest that started behind the Safety Car and was red-flagged twice, for 35 and 27 minutes respectively.
“It was tricky out there, for example with Kimi [Raikkonen], I didn’t see him crash in front of me,” added Ricciardo, who had sealed third in the Drivers’ standings in Mexico two weeks earlier.
“It wasn’t until I got back to the pits and saw a replay I knew he’d crashed. From that point of view they obviously make some good calls with red flags.
“I’m glad we got to race and glad we could finish it, and that despite some crashes everyone was safe. The fans put up with a long afternoon so thanks to them for staying with it.”
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