Ricciardo qualifying wrecked by ‘eight millimetre’ part

Daniel Ricciardo says blame lies with Renault’s manufacturing of a throttle actuator for ending his qualifying early for the Japanese Grand Prix.

Just as the Red Bull driver was lining up for his opening run in Q2, he reported a mechanical issue with his power unit forcing him to pit before starting his first timed lap. Despite his mechanics’ efforts the Australian driver missed the rest of the second qualifying session which relegated him to 15^th on the grid in Suzuka.

Ricciardo, who has been continually hit by mechanical issues this season, vented his frustration screaming in his helmet walking out of the Red Bull garage following his Q2 exit.

After having time to reflect on the situation, Riccciardo confirmed the cause of the mechanical problem and laid the blame on his future F1 factory team.

“The good news is I don’t have to take any penalties tomorrow but obviously the penalty was today, but it won’t get worse,” Ricciardo said. “It was a throttle actuator. Basically it broke, I think a mechanical piece broke, it couldn’t give what I was asking for.

“As soon as I went on throttle I knew something was up. It sounded ugly, and then we tried to start it up — one of the bits was broken. I would’ve preferred it happened in practice or something.

“It’s a French thing. I think it’s just a manufacturing, just a part. It’s a piece about eight millimetres or something thick. It kind of just broke.

“Apparently they take a beating. I haven’t seen it, but I guess it probably just snapped off.”

Ricciardo is set to switch to Renault next season from Red Bull after confirming his F1 future during the summer break.