By Gura Garcia
Sep 23, 2024, 08:51 AM EDT
Daniel Ricciardo was quite emotional and almost had tears in his eyes. Once the Singapore Grand Prix was over, what could have been his last race in Formula 1, to the point that the Australian driver himself described the race with a “maybe the fairy tale ending didn’t happen.”
Speaking to Sky F1, Ricciardo said he was “proud” of his 13 years in F1. He added that although he paid little attention to the F1 “driver of the day” award he received after the Singapore Grand Prix, where he also managed to set the fastest lap, the driver admitted that it meant “something” to receive it in what could be his last grand prix.
Speaking from the heart
“I have to acknowledge why I came back after the time at McLarenand I always said I didn’t want to come back just to be on the grid. I wanted to try and fight at the front again and go back to Red Bull. Obviously it didn’t come to fruition, so I also have to ask myself the question ‘what more can I achieve? What more can I do? ’”
“I gave it my best shot. Let’s say maybe the fairy tale ending It didn’t happen, but I also have to look back on what has been 13 years or so. And I’m proud.”
“Normally, the driver of the day thing is not something that drivers think about. “Let’s not focus too much on it, but today I can say that it is something I am grateful for. So today’s events mean something.”
Emotions on the surface
Ricciardo also told F1 TV that he was with “A lot of emotions, because I am aware that this could be (his last race). I think it is also just exhaustion after the race.”
“There are so many things, like a torrent of many emotions and feelings and exhaustion. And the cockpit is something I’ve gotten very used to over many years, and I just wanted to savour the moment.”
Ricciardo also commented that after he was eliminated in Q1the team made the decision to opt to run on soft tyres for the start of the race, but despite this it was not able to recover positions.
Ricciardo’s fastest lap earned him an extra point McLaren’s Lando Norris, who finished with a win in Singapore and is still stalking the Dutchman Max Verstappen of Red Bull, Daniel’s former teammate at the time, for second place in the drivers’ championship.
A gesture of support for Verstappen and Red Bull
This action is reason for Daniel to think that he could wait. a “nice Christmas present”, as long as Verstappen manages to win a fourth world championship, and even more so if it is by 1 point.
“Obviously, after yesterday’s qualifying out of position, We knew we had to try something and maybe we get a safety car at the right time.”
“From what I understand, it was a difficult race to overtake.“There weren’t many people overtaking cars. We were aggressive at the start on the soft and thought we might get lucky at some point, but it wasn’t to be. If Max wins by one point, I’m guaranteed a nice Christmas present!”
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