Fearless Aussie driver Daniel Ricciardo's appalling start to his new F1 season with Renault has been branded unacceptable by the team boss, after another disappointing end to his race this morning.
Ricciardo was forced to retire when he and team-mate Nico Hulkenberg's engines both gave out simultaneously on the same corner just a few laps from the chequered flag.
It comes after Ricciardo was forced out of his home Grand Prix in Melbourne a fortnight ago and has left Renault in dire straits already with the majority of the season ahead of them.
Today Renault F1 team boss Cyril Abiteboul said it was frustrating and unacceptable and vowed the team would now work on reliability.
But the double retirement hints at serious endurance problems for Renault – but the team was focused on the success they had in the short sprints of practice and qualifying.
"After a very intense winter, it's been a very bad start to our racing season," Abiteboul admitted. "Our race came to a sudden stop so close to the finish.
"These problems are increasingly frustrating and unacceptable as both cars have shown very good competitiveness both over one-lap and race runs."
Ricciardo gambled on a one stop tyre strategy in a bid to undercut rivals who were relying on a two-stop race, but was losing pace on the leaders when his engine gave out with him in 10th place to Hulkenburg's ninth spot.
He added: "Daniel is building on precious experience in the car, and despite good race pace, his strategy gamble didn't work out.
"Daniel will continue his familiarisation in the car during this week's test conducting performance-related work.
"We must react and shift our focus on reliability."
The Australian landed at Renault after leaving Red Bull at the end of last season. Engine problems at Red Bull appeared to contribute to his decision to leave the team - but he surprised many by then joining Red Bull's engine suppliers, Renault.
He may be regretting that choice today.
"A lot happened in the race today," Ricciardo said. "Initially it looked like we had competitive pace and we therefore committed to a one-stop strategy.
"As we got deeper into the first stint, I could tell that the tyres were struggling a lot."In hindsight, two stops would have been better.
"Towards the end, the others were coming through, I couldn't do too much to defend.
"I wanted to put up more of a fight but it was not possible, sadly."
He added: "It was a very up and down weekend, a lot happened, and we will take some time to absorb everything and come back stronger."
Related Articles
Gallery: 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix
Gallery: 2025 Japanese Grand Prix
