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Ricciardo gutted DNF-causing accident: "I was just a passenger"

16:57, 29 Sep 2019

byNicolás Quarles van Ufford

After suffering an unfortunate DNF following a lap-one accident, Daniel Ricciardo said he was "just a passenger" during the incident as he got tangled up with Romain Grosjean and Antonio Giovinazzi.

The Renault driver suffered a puncture after making contact with Giovinazzi, with the Italian being caught in the middle of Ricciardo and Grosjean. The Alfa hit both cars, with Grosjean crashing into the wall and Ricciardo suffering a massive puncture along with floor damage.

Eventually, the 30-year-old had to call it a day, with the damage on his car too great to continue in a competitive way.

“Unfortunately, our race was pretty much over from the start," the seven-time Grand Prix winner analysed.

"I had too much damage on the car to carry on, which is a shame. It was a bit chaotic through Turn 2 and I had the inside line for Turn 4 where I thought I was safe. I got hit and had a puncture and damage to the floor.

"I’ll look at it with the perspective that if I qualify higher up the grid then I’m less likely to be in the bad stuff. I’ll take responsibility for that, but in terms of the accident, I was just a passenger.”