Ricciardo: Run of poor reliability getting ‘pretty painful’

Daniel Ricciardo admits his current run of poor reliability is “pretty painful” after an engine failure in Japanese Grand Prix qualifying marked his latest setback in 2018.

The Red Bull driver reported a loss of power at the start of Q2 at Suzuka and returned to his garage before completing a lap, as his mechanics worked frantically to resolve the issue.

But the problem proved terminal, leaving Ricciardo 15th on the grid for Sunday’s race, while teammate Max Verstappen secured third on the grid behind the Mercedes duo having made the most of Ferrari’s tyre blunder in Q3.

"I just blew out my vocals. I'm so pissed" Ricciardo said following the conclusion of qualifying. "I felt a loss of power out of the last corner, just before I started the lap.

“I knew it was something. Seems terminal. Just can't catch a break at the moment."

It marked the latest in a series of reliability problems that have thwarted the Australian’s season, following recent mechanically-induced retirements in Austria, Germany and Italy.

Ricciardo, who will complete a shock switch to Renault for 2019, has not featured on the podium since his victory in May’s Monaco Grand Prix.

When asked if he felt his luck could turn in the race, he replied: “Hopefully, we’ll see.

“Qualifying is important here, like always, but it’s hard to follow and whatever but I’ll do what I can. I don’t know, it’s pretty painful at the moment.”