Ricciardo second behind Hamilton after Red Bull's pitstop error
Monday 13 June 2016 12:14, UK
A despondent Daniel Ricciardo felt he was "screwed" by Red Bull for the second race running at the Monaco GP.
Much like in Spain, Ricciardo was leading before being called into the pits - though this time his mechanics did not have soft tyres ready after a "misunderstanding" and he lost crucial time.
The Australian rejoined the track behind Lewis Hamilton and was unable to pass the Mercedes on the unique narrow circuit, telling his team to "save it" on team radio as they tried to apologise after the race.
And while Hamilton was celebrating in parc ferme, Ricciardo couldn't muster his usual smile after a frustrating afternoon.
Monaco GP report: Hamilton wins Monaco thriller
"It hurts," he said. "Those tyres should have been ready. I've been screwed two weekends in a row and it sucks.
"I thought I was quickest all conditions, but second place doesn't really show it."
Ricciardo had been in superb form all weekend in Monaco and qualified on pole, but once again saw the maximum points slip away. In Spain he was brought into the pits to change strategy, while new team-mate Max Verstappen stayed out and went on to win.
On this occasion he seemed to be in control despite Mercedes and Hamilton's pace and their skipped pitstop to change straight from the full wets onto the ultrasoft tyre.
But when Ricciardo came in to switch to the supersofts his team didn't have the rubber available, taking several seconds to eventually fit them.
"How do I feel? Like I have been run over by an 18-wheel truck for the second week in a row," he added to Sky F1. "I took Barcelona on the chin, but two in a row? And especially here at Monaco.
"I thought l was controlling it. A big part is relying on the team and strategy. I don't know where to go from here or what to do. This win l will never get back. It definitely hurts.
"It wasn't my call, it was the team's call. I told them after the race that [there is] nothing they can say that make me feel better."
Red Bull stated that there was a miscommunication between the engineers upstairs and the garage downstairs.
"We presented it to Mercedes," Helmut Marko said. "Unfortunately there was a lot of misunderstanding and not the right communication.
"We will investigate and find out. It was a human mistake. I feel really sorry for Daniel, and all we can do is apologise to him."
