Daniel Ricciardo Makes Reference To Controversial 2008 Crashgate Scandal After 'Miserable' Q1 Exit

Saajan Jogia | Sep 21, 2024

Jun 7, 2024; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; RB driver driver Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) in the pit lane during the practice session at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images / Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

VCARB driver Daniel Ricciardo made a controversial reference to the 2008 crashgate scandal involving Nelson Piquet Jr., who intentionally crashed to trigger a safety car and aid his Renault teammate's victory at the Singapore Grand Prix. After being eliminated in Q1, Ricciardo remarked that a similar scenario seemed to be his only hope of improving his grid position.

Ricciardo has endured a tough season, consistently being outpaced by teammate Yuki Tsunoda on most Grand Prix weekends. Adding to the uncertainty, Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko hinted at the possibility of placing a reserve driver in one of the Red Bull family seats next season, raising doubts about the Australian's future with the junior team.

What added fuel to the fire is Tsunoda's Q3 qualifying result in Singapore with a P8 start for Sunday's race, his first time since the Hungarian Grand Prix. Meanwhile, Ricciardo qualified in a distant P16, despite optimistic performances in free practice on Friday, owing to a slight change in the setup and tires. Speaking about the drastic change in the car's performance, the 35-year-old told the media:

"We didn't really change much.

"We were in a good place yesterday so we were pretty upbeat about it, we weren't chasing our tail. Honestly, the medium this morning was good, it felt like we started off on the same foot as yesterday but then I put the soft on and I was nowhere.

"So we did a bit of fine-tuning for quali and I thought we would be OK, but again, I wasn't comfortable on the soft.

"It was... I would say miserable because we were somewhere yesterday, genuinely, and we didn't expect... there wasn't any big mistakes but I knew when I crossed the line that it wasn't quick. It just didn't feel that nice.

"This morning, you could say that 'oh that soft didn't work' but we had three of them today and we weren't competitive on any of them."

When asked if the poor qualifying result was more upsetting amid speculation of his ousting, Ricciardo said:

"Yeah, of course it would be nice just to leave a statement.

"Obviously, the Q1 thing, that sucks. With all the s*** going on, I honestly felt [it] would be good today. So that's why I'm more just like, how did we end up [out] in Q1?

"I try to be optimistic but today was a very pessimistic day, so I'll go drown in my ice bath, you'll find me there tomorrow, floating."

The VCARB driver then hinted that only an incident like the infamous Crashgate scandal could boost his chances of achieving a better race result. He concluded:

"Hopefully, [we get] a well-timed safety car.

"Bring Piquet back, and let's make it happen."