Ricciardo claims maiden Monaco GP victory despite MGU-K problem; Australian calls it redemption after missing out in 2016
Tuesday 11 December 2018 12:00, UK
Daniel Ricciardo has described his win in Monaco as 'redemption' after overcoming a crippling loss of power in his Red Bull car to secure victory.
Ricciardo, desperately unfortunate not to win F1's most famous race in 2016, successfully managed an engine issue for almost 50 laps to claim a deserved victory ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.
"This is two years in the making, so I finally feel like the redemption has arrived," said Ricciardo.
"We had problems. We had a lot to deal with during the race. I felt a loss of power and I thought the race was done. I got home just using six gears."
Ricciardo limps to stunning Monaco win
With Ricciardo unwilling to risk using seventh or eighth gear, the Australian said "every lap l got by without a problem was a little victory."
And he told Sky Sports F1: "We did it, who cares. They made it hard for me but we got it done.
"When Simon [Rennie, his race engineer] said it's not going to get better but it is what it is, I thought I could pull off a great victory and the satisfaction will be better.
"It wasn't fun, it sucked, I'm exhausted and look forward to a drink very soon."
Red Bull compared the resilience of Ricciardo's victory to Michael Schumacher's drive in Spain in 1994, when the F1 legend held on for second place despite being stuck in fifth gear for much of the race.
"You have done an amazing job today," Red Bull chief Christian Horner told Ricciardo.
"That is right up there with what Schumacher did, and payback for 2016."
Ricciardo's race engineer simply told him: "I don't know how you did that."
So how did Ricciardo cope?
Red Bull revealed that Ricciardo changed his driving style to find a way around the loss of engine power after it suddenly developed around lap 30.
"It was a serious problem and Daniel managed it unbelievably," Helmut Marko, the Red Bull advisor, told Sky Sports. "I don't think any other driver could have done it.
"I was very nervous. In the beginning, it looked like it would slow the car further down but we settled it, changed set-up and he changed his driving style. Unbelievable."
Ricciardo said that he shifted his brake bias forward to respond to the problem, and added: "I was stressing out about it for a few laps I still don't know how we did it but obviously it helps it is difficult to overtake here.
"But I couldn't really enjoy it. It felt like a very long race."
Ultimately, however, the result rewarded the means.
"I can now put 2016 behind me once and for all," he reflected.
