Ricciardo was shocked: "I kicked a hole through the wall to Max's room"

Daniel Ricciardo left Red Bull Racing after a painful year in 2018. The Australian was defeated by his young teammate Max Verstappen. Many of his defeats were due to the Renault power source. This started to frustrate him so much that at one point he became afraid of himself. 

Ironically, Ricciardo made the switch to the Renault F1 Team. Precisely the team that, as an engine supplier, caused him a lot of misery in his time at Red Bull. During the American GP in 2018, it turned out that Ricciardo had enough of it. After the seventh retirement of that year, the normally smiling Australian couldn't control himself anymore.

On the Formula 1 website the Honey Badger tells his story as he looks back: "I was shocked by myself in Austin 2018. I remember that I walked back to the pit and that I could count on everyone's sympathy. At the same time, I thought, 'What good is all that sympathy to me? It doesn't mean anything."

Ricciardo kicked hole to room Verstappen

Ricciardo continues: "I went back to my room and hit the wall hard. It was cheap material so I flew right through it. I hit a metal piece with my hand. Then I kicked again and my foot ended up in Max's room. Luckily he was still on the track. Afterwards, I got a message that he thanked me for decorating his room."

"My hand began to swell. For about an hour I had a very dark feeling about myself. I thought I'd broken my own hand." Luckily it was not so bad for the Australian and after three days of ice on his hand, he could just get back on board for the Mexican Grand Prix. However, the reaction of his team boss was surprising, Ricciardo said.

Normally a team boss would be furious if a driver does something like that to himself and runs the risk of not being able to drive. Helmut Marko and Christian Horner reacted differently, however: "It was such a situation where they couldn't be angry. I had such a bad season with a lot of bad luck. It was uncomfortable, but it was okay", the Renault driver concluded.