Daniel Ricciardo happy with "good launch" at Mexican GP

Daniel Ricciardo's Mexican GP went pear-shaped after making contact with Valtteri Bottas on the first lap. While he regretted the frustrating outcome of the race, the Australian expressed satisfaction with his launch off the line.

The McLaren driver started seventh on the grid and made up two positions after a good getaway. However, as the train of cars in front of him funneled into the first corner, Ricciardo made contact with Bottas, damaging his own front wing while sending the Mercedes driver spiralling to the bottom of the field.

As a result of damage from contact, Ricciardo had to pit for a new front wing while Bottas was left to work his way up from the back of the grid. The Aussie finished 12th while the Finn ended up 15th.

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Ricciardo frustrated with Mexican GP incident but happy with launch

Daniel Ricciardo passes Valtteri Bottas after he spun at the start during the 2021 Mexican GP. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Expressing his views on the opening lap incident, Ricciardo said:

“Yes, I’ve just seen a replay now for the first time and…I had a good launch and slipstream, and we were looking pretty good. I was alongside Perez, I think, into [Turn] 1 and I locked [up] initially and then I collected it. I still feel bad because the race was done, but let’s say I feel...slightly better now after seeing that.”

Reviewing the incident, Riccardo explained:

“It actually looked like I locked before kind of the entry point and then I gathered it up again and obviously Valtteri’s come in to close the apex.”

Explaining the reason for contact, the Aussie said:

“Then it’s me and Perez and there’s basically not enough room for all of us. So it was actually a lot smaller hit than I thought.”

Lamenting the outcome of the incident with Bottas, Ricciardo said:

“Frustrating. Frustrating to have this. It’s the nature of the beast obviously with the sport and Lap 1 incidents can happen. Obviously, the cars are pretty fragile as well. You just hit at the wrong angle and a lot of things kind of go breaking, so yes, sorry [to Bottas].”

The Australian and Finn benefited from a Safety Car period, as the former changed his front wing while the latter changed tires. However, neither driver was able to make it back to the top 10, as track position was key in the race.

Ricciardo concluded his views on the Lap 1 incident, saying:

“That’s the disappointing part and the sad part of the sport sometimes.”

The McLaren driver had jumped into fifth place, so hypothetically, without that incident, he had a strong chance of finishing the race in the top 5 or even a podium.

McLaren's Lando Norris collected a single point for the team, while Ricciardo could not contribute any. The Woking-based team have now dropped to fourth in the constructors' standings as a result of their Mexican GP misfortune.

Trailing Ferrari by 13.5 points, McLaren have amassed a total of 255 championship points so far. Aside from their own disappointing results, Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finishing a respectable fifth and sixth respectively did not favor them either.