Daniel Ricciardo has ‘no regrets’ over his tight battle with Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas in the early stages of the US Grand Prix.
During the opening laps of the race, both Ricciardo and Bottas were locked in a tight battle over third place, the Australian made some bold moves believing it was only way he could get past the Finn.
“I think I tried to get the most out of it today and the laps I raced were fun but also frustrating,” said Ricciardo. “I felt that, especially earlier on, we were quicker than Valtteri, but I always had to come from so far back that it was never going to be an easy move.
“I tried a lot of times to make it stick but could never quite manage it. I wasn’t going to drive behind him all weekend wondering what could have been, so I don’t have any regrets with the moves I tried.
“It’s just frustrating to not continue that battle. I did enjoy it out there though. Every time I tried to overtake Valtteri he would just slip back underneath me and I thought: alright let’s try again.”
On Lap 14, Ricciardo’s RB13 suffered low oil pressure which led to his power unit shutting down and pulling to the side of the road at Turn 16, he will likely have to take a penalty at the next race in Mexico due to going over the allotted power unit elements for the season.
The five-time grand prix winner is also aiming to emulate his team-mate Max Verstappen’s performance in Austin in Mexico next weekend and storm through the field.
“It’s obviously never nice to be out of the race early,” added the Australian. “There were a lot of elbows out and you could see a lot of contact, so I wouldn’t have suspected it would be due to a mechanical issue but of course it was disappointing to finish early.
“I think we’ll probably have to take a penalty which means that I will start at the back in Mexico. I’ll do my best to try and charge through the field and you’ll hopefully see more of today in Mexico.”
