WHAT A LOAD OF BULL
DANIEL Ricciardo and his beaming smile are as permanent a Formula 1 presence as the racing red of Ferrari.
But wanting to win his home Grand Prix so badly was enough for the genial Australian to be “as angry” as anyone in his Red Bull team has ever seen him.
That was Friday night, when Ricciardo was told of his three-spot grid penalty, handed out because he didn’t slow down quick enough under a red flag during a practice session, when he was trying to lay down a fast time.
It could have been a five spot penalty under the new regulations. Stewards “watered it down” as much as they could, because, according to Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, even they didn’t want to penalise him.
Ricciardo is usually upbeat when he hits Melbourne and has more commitments with media and sponsors than probably the other 19 drivers combined.
He’s even doing the voice over on the shuttle trams, guiding people to the entry gates at Albert Park.
This year he’s out of contract at the end of the season, and Red Bull has tied up his younger teammate, Max Verstappen, on a $30 million a year contract.
Ricciardo, in a blog he’s writing for Red Bull — yet another commitment this week — said he has been asked “about 5000 times” what he’s doing, where he’s going, and he’s smiled through the constant questioning.
But that three spot grid penalty, when he believes he has enough pace to get on the front row at Albert Park, when he knows he’s close enough for that breakthrough home GP win, was enough for the permanent smile to disappear.
He arrived on track on Saturday morning declaring, in true Aussies fashion, that he was “pissed off” and that the decision was “shithouse”.
There’s a strong likelihood no F1 official has heard a decision disputed with that particularly Australian bit of vernacular. It loomed as a potential distraction too, despite the fact he couldn’t appeal against, and couldn’t change it.
“I’ve never seen him that angry before,” Horner said.
“He’s largely over it, but it’s eating away at him, he’s ramped up about it. If he needed any extra motivation he’s got it but I don’t think he needed it.”
Ricciardo was sixth in the first practice session yesterday, then went faster in qualifying. He finished fifth, but nearly a full second behind the blistering lap record set by Lewis Hamilton.
Add his grid penalty, and Ricciardo will start the race from eighth.
Nico Rosberg said before qualifying that Ricciardo was “done” because of the penalty, and could not win.
Horner, however, wouldn’t rule out a Ricciardo Sunday special.