Daniel Ricciardo’s second-last race at McLaren ended in disastrous fashion on Monday morning [AEDT], with the Australian crashing out in the opening lap of the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Ricciardo was attempting to overtake Kevin Magnussen up the inside at Turn 9 but ran into trouble, with the pair making contact as both cars suffered extensive damage.
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It was enough to see both drivers ruled out of the race in what was a sad end to what had otherwise been a fantastic weekend for Magnussen, who claimed his first career pole position.
Assessing the incident for Sky Sports, Martin Brundle said it was “100 per cent Daniel’s fault”.
“It’s all going to go horribly wrong… that is 100 per cent Daniel’s fault,” he said.
“That was a shame. I’ve got to give that 100 per cent to Daniel I’m afraid.”
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“In a way you can say don’t roll backwards, jam your foot on the brakes – he had to let it roll backwards and get out the way.”
The incident brought out a safety car, which remained out until the end of Lap 6, but the drama was far from over as Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton also made contact.
The incident was investigated with officials coming down hard on the Australian.
He been dealt a three-place grid penalty for next weekend’s race in Abu Dhabi, the season finale and his last race with McLaren. He has also been hit with a two-point penalty
It wasn’t the end of the drama for McLaren with Lando Norris forced to retire with engine trouble in a disastrous blow to McLaren’s chances of claiming fourth spot in the Constructor’s Championship. Norris lost power and pulled off to the side of the track. After marshalls weren’t able to move the McLaren safely out of the way, a full safety car was called.
It meant a blockbuster finish to the race with Mercedes driver George Russell holding off teammate Lewis Hamilton claim his maiden victory.
Ricciardo’s short-term future in the sport, meanwhile, is still up in the air, with Ricciardo telling reporters before Monday’s race that he was not any closer to making a final call.
“Not really. There’s nothing yet close or confirmed or anything. I can make something up, but nothing new to tell you,” he said.
“Look, as I have said before, I have nothing to hide. From even a contractual point of view in terms of, I guess I’m free to talk and whatever but there’s nothing done. If something was done, trust me, I’d be saying it. So there’s nothing holding that back.”
Ricciardo has been heavily-linked to a reserve driver role with either Red Bull or Mercedes, having been replaced by fellow Australian Oscar Piastri at McLaren next year.