‘Why am I here?’: Ricciardo reacts to Verstappen’s shambolic title win

Daniel Ricciardo had the best seat in the house for F1’s wild season finale but he was just as perplexed as the rest of the world.

As the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix reached its crescendo, Daniel Ricciardo had the best seat in the house for what he could only describe as a “crazy, crazy finale”.

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton had a last-lap shootout in the most controversial of circumstances, as the five lapped cars that separated the pair were told to overtake the safety car, a decision that Mercedes vehemently protested.

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Ricciardo, who was one of three drivers instructed not to pass the safety car after Nicholas Latifi slammed his Williams into the wall with just a handful of laps remaining, sat just behind the title-chasing duo for the final loop around the Yas Marina Circuit.

Verstappen, who pitted for fresher tyres while the safety car was out on the track, snatched the lead and the title from Hamilton’s grasp not long after racing had resumed as the Brit did what he could on his significantly older tyres.

Hamilton held a solid lead over his Dutch adversary for just about the entire race, making the second-place finish all the more crushing.

Even though he had his own battle to worry about in the middle of the pack, Ricciardo was in disbelief at how the season finale transpired as his former Red Bull teammate of almost three years won his maiden world championship.

“I don’t want to ask me … I want to ask you. Tell me, tell me what happened,” Ricciardo said post-race.

“Crazy. Crazy, crazy finale.”

Daniel Ricciardo congratulates Max Verstappen after the latter won his maiden world championship. Picture: Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Speaking about his own situation in the midst of all the chaos, Ricciardo added: “At the end it was kind of weird, they said cars can’t pass, the lapped cars, then some of them did, but then I wasn’t allowed to.

“We did a one-lap restart, I’m sitting right behind Lewis and Max, like, why am I here? I don’t know. It was very interesting.

“I said before the weekend, there’s no loser. They’ve both done everything possible ... but of course, for Lewis to lose it on the last lap, that’s a tough one today.”

Ricciardo finished the season eighth in the drivers’ championship in his first year as a McLaren driver.

The 32-year-old dropped three spots from his second and final campaign with Renault in 2020, but his victory at the Italian Grand Prix — his first in over three years — softened the blow.

“Thanks to the team for their hard work this year,” Ricciardo said after the season finale.

“We’ve had some fantastic moments, Monza being the highlight, and I can’t wait to build on the progress we’ve made in 2021.

“Before that, I’m looking forward to heading home, recharging the batteries a bit and getting ready to come back fighting next year.”

As for what he plans on changing next season to better his final position in the championship race, Ricciardo’s answer was simple.

“Something I want to improve next year is the performance (in qualifying) on Saturdays, and I think that’ll make the (grands prix on) Sundays a bit easier,” he said.