Daniel Ricciardo left disappointed by stoppages in Imola qualifying
Daniel Ricciardo was left disappointed not to qualify higher than sixth in an interrupted Friday qualifying session at Imola.
Daniel Ricciardo during Friday qualifying at Imola. (Motorsport Images/McLaren Racing)
The session was one of the most-interrupted in Formula 1 history with multiple red flags as drivers struggled in the wet conditions.
Ricciardo was sixth fastest when the session was suspended as teammate Lando Norris ran off the road, bringing out the final red flag.
“On paper it’s pretty good," said the Australian.
"I feel a little hurt because I think pretty much everyone in front of me did two laps and I just got the one because of the red flags."
"With the improvements on the second lap, I really feel I could be significantly further up, but that’s alright."
I’m happy we had good pace and happy we’re in a good position and up the pointy end. We’ll fight hard for the rest of the weekend and I’m looking forward to the Sprint."
"It’ll be fun.”
Daniel Ricciardo on-track at the wet Imola circuit. (Motorsport Images/McLaren Racing)
Norris was third-fastest, signaling a shift in momentum for McLaren after a slow start to the season.
“Very happy," said Norris.
"P3, which I’m a bit surprised by but I think a lot of other people made some mistakes and we took advantage of that."
"To be honest, I made quite a few mistakes as well."
The young Briton even thought he could have challenged Charles Leclerc for a spot on the front row alongside polesitter Max Verstappen
"There was a chance we maybe could have done a little bit better, I think there was a bit left in it at the end and it would have been nice to go for that lap and attack one more time, but I just made a mistake and caught the white line."
"Apart from that, I’m happy and in a good position for tomorrow.”
