Ricciardo’s hopes up in smoke

FORMULA 1: Daniel Ricciardo is losing faith in Renault’s reliability after the Australian nearly missed out on yesterday’s Chinese Grand Prix qualifying due to an engine failure in final practice. ‘I’ll never give up hope but for sure the window of optimism reduces over time,’ said the 28-year-old (right), who retired from the last race in Bahrain with an energy store problem in the power unit. Ricciardo, who is out of contract at the end of this year, halted during practice with his car belching smoke and fire. He will line up sixth today, alongside teammate Max Verstappen who also complained of his engine’s lack of power in qualifying.