WATCH: Daniel Ricciardo Dramatically Spins Off Into the Barriers During Portuguese GP Qualifying

Renault man Daniel Ricciardo has been in brilliant form recently. However, his Portuguese Grand Prix hasn’t gotten off to the best of starts. His spin-off into the gravel, during the second qualifying session, summarizes his struggles at Portimao.

In the practice sessions prior to qualifying, the Australian hadn’t given the best impression of himself. He ended the three practice sessions in P9, P13 and P14, respectively.

His disappointing form then carried on into qualifying. Ricciardo ended the first qualifying session in P10. Things didn’t really get better from then on.

Ricciardo barely managed to get himself out of Q2, finishing P11. He might have done better had he not spun out in the dying minutes of the session.

Ricciardo was on a flying lap. He ran into traffic, or rather his teammate Esteban Ocon. This forced the man from down under to go wider than what he would have preferred.

As a result, when Ricciardo tried to turn right to head into the next turn, he lost the back of his Renault RS20. The Australian ended up spinning off the circuit and into the gravel before coming to a halt by hitting the barrier.

Luckily for Ricciardo, he could keep the engine running and his car didn’t seem to sustain any major damage.

Moreover, he managed to make the cut into Q3, ahead of Ocon, who dropped out in P11.

How did Daniel Ricciardo fare in Q3?

Ricciardo had yet another unsatisfactory performance in Q3, similar performance to what he achieved in Q2. Although this time around he managed to keep his car out of the barriers.

Ricciardo will start tomorrow’s race in P10. Definitely not what he would have had in mind, especially after the highs of winning a podium in the last race.

Nevertheless, all hope is not lost. Ricciardo’s hot streak has seen him bag 58 points from the last five races.

If he can get off to a good start tomorrow, the Renault man can certainly get himself a solid result. Renault will be hoping both their drivers end up in the top 10 tomorrow. They’d want to edge ahead of mid-field rivals McLaren and Racing Point.

Can they achieve their target? We’ll find out on the 25th of October.