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Ricciardo rages after tyre bungle costs him at Monaco

Dan Ricciardo drives the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
29th May, 2016
11

A furious Daniel Ricciardo has slammed his Red Bull team after a shambolic pit stop cost him victory at the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday.

The usually mild-mannered West Australian, who started the race on pole position, failed to contain his anger after finishing second behind world champion Lewis Hamilton following a bungled tyre change due to a communication breakdown between the team’s mechanics and and engineers.

Ricciardo was leading the race when he was ordered into the pits only to find the tyres were not ready.

The seven-second delay that ensued allowed Hamilton to take control of the race and hold on for his first win of the season in wet conditions.

It was the second time in as many races Ricciardo has been denied victory due to a mistake by his team following the strategy error that handed the win to Dutch teammate Max Verstappen at the Spanish GP two weeks ago.

“Two weeks in a row I’ve been screwed,” Ricciardo told the team over the radio after the chequered flag.

“It sucks. I was called into the box. They should have been ready. Nothing you can say can make it any better. Just save it.”

Ricciardo said he had no idea what happened and cut morose figure on the podium as Hamilton celebrated his success.

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“I didn’t make the call, I got called,” he said.

“They should have been ready. It hurts. I don’t have anything else to say to be honest.”

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