Daniel Ricciardo, TAKE A BOW. He may have had a season to forget this year, but he put in an incredible performance to recover from a crash with Yuki Tsunoda and take home seventh in the Mexican Grand Prix 👏
The Honey Badger arrived in Mexico City having finished behind teammate Lando Norris 15 times in the last 19 races. Yikes. Then, after showing some strong race pace early on, many thought he’d ruined his chances when he hit Tsunoda, earning him a ten-second penalty.
However, the Aussie fought back, overtaking Alfa Romeo’s Valterri Bottas and both Alpines, in a showing that could be critical in the battle for fourth in the constructors’ standings.
DRIVER OF THE DAY. 😁🍯🦡
This guy. 🧡#MexicoGP pic.twitter.com/yjycTz2QN8— McLaren (@McLarenF1) October 30, 2022
After the race, Ricciardo told Sky Sports that he “felt like he still had really good pace,” something he credited to the McLaren strategy team, who planned for him to switch to the soft tyre.
“We kind of had the plan that if we were at the tail end of the group, then we would have the opportunity to try something,” he said.
“We thought ‘why not? It’s a good chance to attack,’ and obviously, it’s nice when you have a better tyre, and you can put some pressure on, so we definitely talked about it.”
On his crash, which sent Tsunoda flying into the air, the Driver of the Day In Mexico said he “took responsibility,” but having seen it again, he “didn’t feel as bad about it.”
In fact, Ricciardo argued that he “didn’t miss the apex, lockup and go into him,” and he was “just trying to stay” close behind him, not “lunge him” as it may have appeared.
LAP 51/71
Contact between Ricciardo and Tsunoda 💥
The AlphaTauri car has damage. Tsunoda returns to the pits and is out of the race ❌#MexicoGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/Y4x8NxOruP
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 30, 2022
Has Ricciardo turned a corner at the Mexican Grand Prix?
