Daniel Ricciardo ‘angry’ as rivals, teammate implode

Daniel Ricciardo must have had voodoo dolls up his sleeve as his biggest rivals self-combusted in extraordinary scenes.

Daniel Ricciardo watched as his rivals fell apart. Photo: Getty.

Daniel Ricciardo has taken a giant step forwards in Red Bull’s three-legged race with a classy drive at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday morning.

The Australian powered his way into Q3 while Visa Cash App RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda crashed out and under pressure Red Bull driver Sergio Perez spun into the wall in the opening qualifying session.

It was a dramatic day of qualifying at the Hungaroring circuit with McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri delivering the team its first front row lock out in 12 years.

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However, Perez’s latest qualifying bomb overshadowed McLaren’s golden day in eyes of many.

Max Verstappen’s teammate smacked the wall at Turn Eight, having lost control and made a sideways slide into the barriers in the second Red Bull.

For the out-of-form Mexican driver, it was another Q1 setback in a sequence of bad qualifying outings.

After a 12-minute break, the action resumed with Perez hanging on in ninth from his earlier efforts, before he suffered his fourth Q1 exit in six outings as he embarked on two racing weekends that many observers believe offer him a last chance to save his seat at Red Bull.

In the four races since the senior team announced Perez’s contract extension, the driver has finished eighth, seventh, seventeenth and a DNF.

The damaged car of Red Bull Racing's Mexican driver Sergio Perez. Photo by Ferenc ISZA / AFP.

“I’m obviously very disappointed because the weekend has been really strong up to now,” he said.

“It hurts to let your whole team down, but at the end of the day I’m determined more than ever to get back where we belong as a team.

“Tomorrow is another opportunity. We are starting 15th so let’s see what we are able to do from there.

“It’s a massive job tomorrow. There’s a long race ahead of us, so I think I just have to shut the external noise down and focus on the job.

Daniel Ricciardo watched as his rivals fell apart. Photo: Getty.

“Yesterday was the best Friday of the season, so we are definitely making progress. Our time will come.

“Unfortunately it’s just one after the other. I’m conscious of that and it’s something we need to change quickly.”

It was particularly painful for Perez as Ricciardo flew through with his final lap in Q1 to go to the top of the timesheets.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner’s comment after the session said plenty/

“We can’t run on one leg,” he said.

Tsunoda, widely considered Ricciardo’s only rival in the race to steal Perez’s seat, also had a shocker when he skidded over a slick curb.

Yuki goes flying into the barriers! 😨

A scary moment for Tsunoda, but the RB man was ok#F1#HungarianGPpic.twitter.com/gdyPcY3Ogq

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 20, 2024

His high speed crash triggered a red flag — and it came right when Ricciardo was preparing for his flying lap.

It meant the Australian was down in 10th when Q3 resumed with two minutes left on the clock.

He said there were a “lot of emotions” after the rollercoaster day.

“Even when Yuki crashed, the first thing we see is “red flag” on your dash. Obviously you’ve just started a timed lap so your initial thing was like, you’re angry,” he said.

“And then they’re like, ‘Yuki is in the wall’. So then you’re like, ‘Oh OK, I hope he’s OK.

“So you’re just like you’re angry and then you want to make sure that it’s not a big crash. It’s a lot.”

He went on to call it a “weird session”.

Perez’s teammate Max Verstappen finished third behind the two McLarens.

It was Norris’s second pole in four races and the third of his burgeoning career as he gains front-running experience in his bid to challenge Verstappen who, on Sunday bids to complete a hat-trick of Hungarian wins.

Hungarian Grand Prix grid

Front row Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren), Oscar Piastri (AUS/McLaren)

2nd row Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull), Carlos Sainz (ESP/Ferrari)

3rd row Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes), Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari)

4th row Fernando Alonso (ESP/Aston Martin), Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin)

5th row Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/RB), Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/RB)

6th row Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Haas), Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Sauber)

7th row Alex Albon (THA/Williams), Logan Sargeant (USA/Williams)

8th row Kevin Magnussen (DEN/Haas), Sergio Perez (MEX/Red Bull)

9th row George Russell (GBR/Mercedes), Zhou Guanyu (CHN/Sauber)

10th row Esteban Ocon (FRA/Alpine), Pierre Gasly (FRA/Alpine)

— with AFP

Originally published as Daniel Ricciardo ‘angry’ as rivals, teammate implode