We knew our one-stop strategy wasn't working, says Ricciardo

A disconsolate Daniel Ricciardo has said that Renault already knew that their one-stop strategy was a failure long before both his and Nico Hulkenberg bizarrely suffered car problems one the same lap towards the end of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

After a DNF in Melbourne, the Aussie was positioned 10th on the grid and was expected to go well, but suffered from a lack of pace in the early laps and the team chose to stick rather than revert to a two-stop approach.

Speaking to Sky Sports afterwards, Ricciardo conceded that the team were stuck in between two positions and that next time they must be more adaptable.

He said: "I felt like we got past a point in the first stint where it was too late to come back [from a one-stop strategy] and it was pretty much at that point I knew it wasn't the best thing to do.

"If we then did the two-stop we would have come out behind everyone else so we had to commit to it. In hindsight, well even during the race we knew it wasn't the best thing. We tried it. That was the idea. But I think a two-stop would have been much more preferred.

"At that first point, maybe I was questioning if it was too late already. So we'll have a look to see if we could have salvaged something. If we were in that kind of limbo again, we'll try to make the right decision out of the two."

Ricciardo suffered an electrical failure in the closing stages that led to the race finishing under the safety car, and there were reports that he would be summoned by the FIA for failing to leave his steering wheel with the car.

But he hit back: "I had the 'red' light on so I couldn't touch the car. I wasn't taking any risks.

"I don't really feel like getting electrocuted today."

Related

More F1 news

Latest F1 news

F1 News Today: Max Verstappen told to leave F1 as champion's rejection unveiled

• 57 minutes ago

Former Ferrari F1 boss reveals 'crazy' Kimi Raikkonen prank: 'I said...f*** you'

• Yesterday 22:43

Oscar Piastri greets McLaren double DNS with bizarre gesture: 'Not a serious bone in his body'

• Yesterday 21:55

Aston Martin F1 insider lays out Fernando Alonso race win target in 2026 despite team turmoil

• Yesterday 21:15

Former Ferrari F1 chief plots team return with message to Lewis Hamilton's boss

• Yesterday 20:27

Aston Martin F1 'takeover pitched by new team' as situation nears 'breaking point'

• Yesterday 19:42