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Daniel Ricciardo says that he is already thinking about taking a grid penalty following his failure in Bahrain. The Australian dropped out of the race very early on, pulling over to the side of the circuit after his car suddenly shut down.
Ricciardo has fitted a new energy store and control electronics for the Chinese Grand Prix weekend. As a part of the new regulations, drivers are only allowed to use two fresh energy stores before being handed a penalty after fitting a new one.
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And the five-time Grand Prix winner says that with the current energy store needing to last 19 races before he takes a penalty, it is likely he will receive a grid drop throughout the season: “We’ve got a second one, if we do it again then we’ve got a penalty.
"Two have to last the year and one, I believe, is in a bin in Bahrain. We survived with one for one race," he added. "It’s more likely than not we’ll have a penalty. Hopefully it’s happening later - I’m 90 percent sure."
Ricciardo insists that he is not frustrated, just disappointed, as he can't afford to get unrested so soon in the year: "I was more disappointed, it’s too early to be frustrated,” said Ricciardo. "Just to start being frustrated and overdrive, I don’t think that’s the right mindset right now. I was disappointed with the result, I wanted to break something, but I’m not at the point where I’m frustrated.”
After a double-retirement in Bahrain, Red Bull has now slipped to fourth in the standings, with McLaren jumping the team for third. Ricciardo says that he is pleased the car has more pace at the start of the year compared to 2017, and is eager to get back onto the podium.
"The car is performing well, we’re still trying to find more from it but the base of the car started off a lot better than last year aerodynamically. It’s just more sound, it feels like more of a race car and there’s a bit more confidence throwing the car around.
"I believe both races we had a podium car and we haven’t got there, so we need to start converting some of these results from what we believe we’ve got. It’s no good having maybe the fastest car if we’re not winning with it," he concluded.
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