Daniel Ricciardo gave a gut-wrenching interview after another poor result at the United States Grand Prix, in which he admitted: "I don't know how I'm continuing."
The Aussie loves racing in Texas, one of his favourite destinations on the calendar, as demonstrated by his arrival wearing cowboy attire and riding a horse. But that was about as good as the weekend got for him, as he struggled to get anything going on track.
Qualifying was much shorter than he would have liked – he was out in Q1 with only three other drivers setting slower lap times. He started 15th on the grid owing to a few grid penalties for others, but failed to make any sort of challenge for points.
Ricciardo finished 16th, with only Nicholas Latifi behind him on track. His team-mate Lando Norris crossed the line sixth, demonstrating that the McLaren cars are more than capable of strong results – but the Aussie has just not been able to get to grips with it.
He was visibly emotional as he faced the TV cameras after the race, and gave one of the most heart-wrenching interviews of his entire Formula 1 career. "I have no idea what to say," he admitted. "Honestly it's 2022, it's been just so far off the pace that I simply can't lean on [the car], can't push, can't get the time out of it.
"Also the inconsistency of the lap times it shows that it can really be a struggle but to have such a big margin again remains a mystery. I love Texas, I love Austin, but that race itself for me was not enjoyable. When you think it can't get worse it does. I don't know how I'm continuing to continue because painful is an understatement."
Just three races remain in the season, and possibly in Ricciardo's F1 career. He will be released by McLaren after the Abu Dhabi finale and, with only Haas yet to confirm their final seat for 2023, it seems extremely unlikely he will have a race seat for next year.
But the 33-year-old is determined to remain close to the sport to give him the best chance of returning to the grid in 2024. He has been considering reserve roles, and Mirror Sport understands there have been talks with his old team Red Bull over a possible return as a backup to Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez next year.
But former F1 champion Jenson Button is not sure a reserve role would be Ricciardo's best option. "I can't see Daniel in the paddock as a third driver," he said on Sky Sports. "It's just weird for me, it doesn't work. But that's obviously what he's chosen to do – it feels right to him. I'd rather he was racing in Formula 1 in a team that's further down the grid."
