Ricciardo: Current F1 form a “sad reality” after Q2 exit in Hungary

Ricciardo trailed McLaren teammate Lando Norris by just under 0.5s in Q2, with the Australian set to start Sunday’s race from 11th on the grid.

The former Red Bull and Renault driver sits 63 points behind his teammate in the drivers’ championship after 10 rounds and is the highest placed driver in the standings without a podium to his name in 2021.

Reflecting on his qualifying performance at the Hungaroring, Ricciardo felt his lap was reasonable without any major mistakes.

“There was a little bit there but it was a little snap on exit [of the chicane],” Ricciardo said. “It didn’t really delay much, like throttle, sure it scrubbed off a bit of speed. There was certainly a bit there but other than that the lap itself was decent in terms of no big errors or there weren't chunks of lap times anywhere, it was just probably a bit here and there.

“When you’re close obviously, the chicane probably didn’t help. It’s tight, it’s tight this year but obviously not on the right end of it often enough.”

While Ricciardo is accepting of his struggles, he doesn’t want to say that his current level of performance is definitive for the rest of the season.

“I mean for now, I don’t want to draw a line under it that this is definitive and this is what it is but obviously, more often than not it’s been the case,” Ricciardo added.

“There’s still obviously some things with the car that I am going to put a lap together but at this level when everybody is doing well and pretty familiar with the equipment now, it’s sometimes not enough or too often not enough and I think it’s just trying to extract a bit more confidence in the car through feel and that feel comes through setups and stuff like that. A bit of a sad reality at the moment.”

Explaining his lack of form, Ricciardo says there’s no trend - sometimes he performs well in the high-speed corners, other times, he is better in the low-speed.

“It has been a bit like that this year so far because I even look back at Bahrain, first quali of the year and I was P6 or something, and I was like ‘alright’ and I am only going to learn the car more and get stronger from here but then you have two back and get a good one in Barcelona,” Ricciardo explained. “The trend is not that consistent in terms of… sometimes the high-speed corners are good, sometimes the low speed are.

“I think ultimately it’s just been quite tricky to drive but also to really be able to feel and find the limit. I think some days when it’s feeling alright I am able to push it up there and drive more on instinct but then I think too often it’s a little bit reactive. It’s been too often than not but I don’t want to draw a line and say this is how it’s going to be forever in time. I want it to get better ASAP. For now, it’s slow and steady.”