SEPANG: This is one Malaysian Grand Prix Australian Daniel Ricciardo will want to forget – after being forced to retire with seven laps to go when his Red Bull car suffered a broken front wing.
It was the second race disappointment for Ricciardo, who left the season-opening race in Melbourne with no points to show for.
He finished second Down Under but was later disqualified when race stewards found that Red Bull had exceeded the new fuel flow limit.
The 24-year-old had a good start on Sunday, mixing it at the front during the opening few laps.
He was comfortably in fourth place and looked set to haul in good points.
However, disaster struck during his second pit stop and two unfortunate incidents eventually forced him to throw in the towel.
The team did not attach his left-front wheel properly and he was forced to stop in the pitlane before being pushed back to sort out the problem.
To make it worse, his front wing was damaged and he was forced to go back into the pits. Although he rejoined the race, he retired not too long after that.
“I guess everyone thought the tyres were on. As soon as I left I could feel something was not right and the left front was loose,” said Ricciardo.
“I stopped and was pushed back ... then a lap later I had a broken front wing and a puncture. I don’t know how that happened. These two incidents spoiled my race.”
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