Australian F1 Grand Prix: Daniel Ricciardo reaction is pure savagery

Daniel Ricciardo keeps going from bad to worse and the reaction to his Australian Grand Prix nightmare shows it can’t get much worse.

Daniel Ricciardo was lonely at Albert Park.

Carlos Sainz has won the Australian Grand Prix with Max Verstappen catching fire early in the race.

The world champion started on pole and was the race leader after Lap 1, but it soon went up in smoke.

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In a hugely dramatic start, Verstappen suffered a technical DNF and spotted fire spreading on his car before he made it back to pit lane at the Albert Park track in Melbourne.

From there it was a one man show as Sainz took the race lead and never looked threatened.

The Spaniard kept Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc at arm’s length for the rest of the race and crossed the line for a famous victory just days after he underwent surgery to have his appendix removed.

5.45pm - Ricciardo eats humble pie

Daniel Ricciardo’s Australian Grand Prix started poorly and finished even worse.

The Australian’s dream of a promotion to the senior red Bull team is quickly turning into dust after a miserable race on Sunday where he again failed to score a championship point.

The Visa CashApp RB driver started from P18 on the grid after his frustrating qualifying efforts — and he barely fired a shot on his way to finish P12 at his home Grand Prix.

To add insult to injury, Ricciardo’s teammate Yuki Tsunoda finished in P8.

The Japanese driver is now 3-0 in head-to-head races with Ricciardo this year and is also 3-0 in qualifying results.

It’s why the reaction to his race has been so savage.

Daniel Ricciardo was lonely at Albert Park.

There have been widespread calls for the Australian to be axed by the Red Bull development outfit with Liam Lawson still demanding a promotion to a full time drive with the team.

Trevor McCue wrote on Twitter on Sunday: “The bigger statement is the Ricciardo experiment was essentially over before it began.

“He’s not getting the Red Bull seat and there is no point blocking Liam Lawson any longer.”

One fan wrote: “As much as I love him… what are point do we start discussing Danny Ric being dropped for Liam Lawson & not having a drive at all?

“Forget Danny going to Red Bull, that’s not happening at this rate.”

The Visa CashApp team’s Twitter post summary of Ricciardo’s race was flooded with scathing comments.

Daniel Ricciardo leads Zhou Guanyu of China. Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images.

“Stop making excuses for Daniel and give Yuki his flowers,” one Twitter user posted.

Another wrote: “Hm, the race I saw is that he finished ahead of the people who had pit stop problems and crashed/exploded cars. I don’t think he did a single overtake.”

With Logan Sargeant not starting the race and Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell all crashing out, Ricciardo only finished ahead of four cars. He was one of eight cars lapped by race winner Carlos Sainz.

Sky Sports analyst Ted Kravitz said simply after the race: “Today, RB is all about Yuki Tsunoda”.

Tsunoda was smiling at the end of the day.

“For sure, Daniel is fast and I’m still learning every race. And for sure he’s giving a lot of positive energy and knowledge from his past experience,” Tsunoda said after being asked about his ability to respond to Ricciardo joining the team.

“And also, for myself, I just keep proving with my performance, not just talking, that that’s my style and (I’m) showing the results.”

4.30pm - Carlos Sainz wins Australian Grand Prix

Carlos Sainz has won the Australian Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver crossed the line under yellow flags after George Russell went into the wall in a heavy crash on the final lap of the race.

It was a perfect day for Ferrari, with Charles Leclerc finishing second.

Carlos Sainz celebrates with his team. Photo: Sky Sports.

Ferrari's Spanish driver Carlos Sainz at Albert Park. Photo by Scott Barbour / POOL / AFP.

Lando Norris finished third for McLaren and Aussie Oscar Piastri was fourth.

Daniel Ricciardo finished 12th with just four cars finishing behind him with three DNFs and Logan Sargeant not starting the race.

It was an incredible day for Sainz, who needed to have surgery to have his appendix removed just days ago.

“This is amazing, thank you guys,” he said on team radio.

“I like this rollercoaster. Life is incredible sometimes. Thank you.”

He joked after the race that he will now recommend to all his rival drivers to have their appendixes removed.

“It was a really good race. I felt really good out there.

“Of course a bit stiff and especially physically it wasn’t the easiest but I was lucky I was more or less on my own and I could manage my pace, my tyres, manage everything, and it wasn’t the toughest race of all.

“But very happy, very proud of the team, and happy to be in a one-two with Charles here. It shows that hard work pays off and life sometimes is crazy.

“What happened at the beginning of the year, then the podium in Bahrain, then the appendix, the comeback, the win...it’s a rollercoaster. But I loved it and I’m extremely happy.”

“I will recommend all the drivers to take it out this winter.”

F1 Australian Grand Prix final standings

1. Carlos Sainz, 2. Charles Leclerc, 3. Lando Norris, 4. Oscar Piastri, 5. Sergio Perez, 6. Fernando Alonso, 7. Lance Stroll, 8. Yuki Tsunoda, 9. Nico Hulkenberg, 10. Kevin Magnussen.

4.05pm - Piastri overtakes Fernando Alonso

Oscar Piastri is back up to P4 after a tough move past Fernando Alonso.

The veteran driver did his best to force Piastri into a mistake, but the Aussie had the class needed to stick the move two corners after first having a nibble.

3.50pm - Oscar Piastri snubbed in team order storm

Aussie Oscar Piastri has been forced to make way for teammate Lando Norris.

Running on a different tyre strategy, Piastri was told to make way for his quicker teammate on Lap 29.

LAP 29/58

Piastri is told by his McLaren team to switch positions with Norris 🔀

The Aussie moves aside for his team mate#F1#AusGPpic.twitter.com/IvR4hzpAtV

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 24, 2024

Sky Sports commentator Ted Kravitz said the crowd at Albert Park was not happy about the incident.

“It went down like a flat white,” he said.

3.45pm - Oscar Piastri climbs positions

Oscar Piastri is up to third in the race and only has the two Ferraris ahead of him.

The Aussie is trying to track down Charles Leclerc, who is more than four seconds behind teammate and race leader Carlos Sainz.

Daniel Ricciardo has climbed up to P13.

3.35pm - Lewis Hamilton gone too

Lewis Hamilton reports an engine failure and stops in the final sector unable to make it back to the pits.

Hamilton triggered a virtual safety car on Lap 17 after pulling his car onto the side of the track.

3.30pm - Max Verstappen gone after five laps

Max Verstappen is out of the Australian Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver looked untroubled as he led the race after the opening lap, but things all went wrong from there.

Carlos Sainz was able to make an easy pass on Lap 2 with Verstappen telling his team on radio there was a “weird” problem.

He was swearing on team radio minutes later as he continued to complain about losing the car.

“I just lost the car, really weird,” Verstappen said.

“F*** the car is loose.”

Max Verstappen limped into the pits. `

Max Verstappen smoked around the track.

Mechanics deal with the smoke coming out of Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen. Photo by Scott Barbour / POOL / AFP.

Minutes later Verstappen reported on team radio that there was fire spreading around his tyres.

He finally pulled into the pits on Lap 5 after smoking his way around the track.

Sky Sports commentator David Croft said: “He was going for a 10th win in succession and it’s all ended up in smoke.

“Max Verstappen out of the race and he’s the first retirement.”

Ted Kravitz got a closer look when Verstappen came into the pits.

“The right rear is on fire, the right rear tyre is on fire,” Ted Kravitz said.

“It’s completely melted the tyre and I don’t know if this is an engine issue. Obviously it’s the end of the race, it’s still the end of the race, they’re not going to fix this.”

It is the first time Verstappen has failed to finish a race since the Aussie Grand Prix in 2022.

2.40pm - Brundle grid walk takes over Melbourne

It’s one of the best moments in the lead up to any Grand Prix and Martin Brundle was back at it in Albert Park.

While there wasn’t awkward celebrity moments this time around, the roaming segment saw Brundle chat with Australian icon Eric Bana before he came across Dude Perfect.

Sam Worthington however delivered the best lines when Brundle approached as he quipped right off the bat: “I’m not going to Cara Delevingne you today.”

As he kept walking down the grid he bumped into Daniel Ricciardo who will start all by himself from the back of the grid.

“Today will go better,” Ricciardo said.

“It’s lonely, I definitely want to be with cars around me. After the first lap we’ll see where we end up.”

1.10pm — Late drama as Ricciardo’s RB undergoes surgery

Daniel Ricciardo’s Visa CashApp RB has undergone major surgery hours before the Australian Grand Prix.

The FIA announced on Sunday morning the Australian’s car has undergone five significant changes — but the veteran driver has avoided a penalty.

There were some expectations the changes could have forced Ricciardo to start from pit lane, but FIA stewards have ruled all the changes conform with the 2024 Formula 1 sporting regulations.

Daniel Ricciardo after qualifying. Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images.

The statement shows Ricciardo has changed his internal combustion engine (ICE), turbocharger (TC), major generator unit-heat (MGU-H), major generator unit-kinetic (MGU-K) and exhaust system (EX).

The changes could make Ricciardo a wildcard at the back of the grid.

12.55pm - Red Bull cop blow

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez qualified third fastest but will start from sixth on the grid after copping a three-place penalty for impeding Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg during qualifying on Saturday.

So what was going to be a Red Bull sandwich around Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz is now a mixed bag at the front of the grid.

Lando Norris will now start third ahead of Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri and Perez.

Sergio Perez has copped a grid penalty. (Photo by Martin KEEP / AFP)

Zhou Guanyu will start from the pit lane today after Sauber changed to a different front wing and nose.

12.30pm - Piastri out to break Aussie podium curse

No Australian has ever stood on the podium at their home Grand Prix since the race became a championship event in 1985.

Daniel Ricciardo finished second in 2014, but he was later disqualified over a fuel technicality.

Piastri is Australia’s best chance to end that drought, starting fifth on the grid.

It was a dire qualifying session for Ricciardo, who didn’t make it out of Q1 after he had his lap time deleted for exceeding track limits.

Oscar Piastri is within striking distance of a podium. (Photo by Bill Murray/Getty Images)

Australian Grand Prix Starting grid

1st row: Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz

2nd row: Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc

3rd row: Oscar Piastri, Sergio Perez

4th row: George Russell, Yuki Tsunoda

5th row: Lance Stroll, Fernando Alonso

6th row: Lewis Hamilton, Alex Albon

7th row: Valtteri Bottas, Kevin Magnussen

8th row: Esteban Ocon, Nico Hulkenberg

9th row: Pierre Gasly, Daniel Ricciardo

Pit lane: Zhou Guanyu

Originally published as Australian F1 Grand Prix: Daniel Ricciardo reaction is pure savagery