Ricciardo grateful: 'I saw it coming at me like a frisbee'

After only a few hundred metres, Daniel Ricciardo could forget about a good final result in the Brazilian Grand Prix. The Australian's AlphaTauri was hit by the tyre canvas from Alex Albon's car, causing the rear wing to break off. After the red flag, Ricciardo - thanks to the swift work of his mechanics - was still able to continue on his way. A stroke of luck, although Ricciardo was especially glad the loose tyre had not hit Ricciardo on the head.

Afterwards, Ricciardo said he was "grateful" to be alive. Because what would have happened if that tyre had hit Ricciardo himself at high speed? The consequences could have been very dramatic. Looking back on what had occurred at the start in his eyes, Ricciardo did too.

Ricciardo saw quite a crash

"It was a messy race start. I saw quite a big crash in front of me, and there was a lot of debris. I felt like I was getting through it, but at a certain point, I saw a tyre flying in the air, like a frisbee, which was starting to get closer. I checked my mirrors and saw the tyre had hit and damaged my rear wing," Ricciardo said.

In the pit box, mechanics were working hard and successfully on the AlphaTauri's rear wing during the red flag situation. "Unfortunately, I was told that Oscar (Piastri) and I would be a lap down and had to restart from the pitlane. All the frustration was because we were really fast today. We stayed behind Yuki, helping him score points, but when we had clear air, I felt like the pace I showed was very strong. I think we made some good progress throughout this weekend, and I’m happy with that seeing as it's a track that has never been a strong one for me. I believe I could've contributed quite a lot to the team in scoring points today if only we didn't restart the race one lap down. I'm now looking forward to Las Vegas."