Red Bull Formula 1 team principal Christian Horner says Daniel Ricciardo put his fist through the wall of his room at Austin after retiring from the United States Grand Prix.
Ricciardo retired while running fourth in the race when his car shut down at the Turn 11 hairpin just eight laps into the race, while his teammate Max Verstappen finished second from 18th on the grid.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the race, Horner said Ricciardo took out his frustration in the paddock.
“It’s a crying shame for Daniel, I feel so sorry for him,” said Horner.
“It looks identical to the power unit issue he had in Bahrain where it’s just gone into complete shutdown – you could see it mid-corner.
“He was driving a strong grand prix and would have been right there too. It’s so frustrating for him.
“He’s taken out his frustration in his room by putting his fist through the wall which you can totally relate to.”
Horner said Ricciardo knew the problems were not related to the team, but to Renault – whose works team he will switch to for next season.
“I’m sure he’ll be having a word with his future employers about it – it’s so frustrating to keep losing him from races at the moment,” he added.
“He doesn’t blame the team in any way, he knows we are doing everything we can, it’s just one of those things.
“Hopefully we’ve got enough components in our [engine] pool for him not to take a penalty [next weekend in Mexico].
“I think both guys can be strong in Mexico. We won it well last year, a really dominant win for us [with Verstappen].
“At that altitude the engines can’t breathe and it brings it all closer together, and that gives us a chance.
“We’re lacking that horsepower, and this will give us a fairer chance on a Saturday, and you can see we’ve got a good race car.”
Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing RB14
Photo by: Manuel Goria / Sutton Images
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