Daniel Ricciardo failed to qualify for the Hungarian Grand Prix for the sixth time in 11 races in 2021, finishing 11th on the grid – a “painful” fact that surprised the Australian, given how excellent his lap felt from within the cockpit of his McLaren MCL35M.

In final practice, Ricciardo, who won the 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix for Red Bull, lapped close to teammate Lando Norris’ time, taking P8 while Norris took P6 – giving McLaren optimism of having both cars in Q3.

Ricciardo’s pace then seemed to fade in qualifying, and he only squeaked through Q1 before finishing 11th quickest in Q2, just missing out on a spot in Q3 by 0.077s – but crucially, 0.486s slower than Norris, who finished second in the segment before taking P6 on the grid.

“It was close to get into Q3 but [what’s frustrating] was probably more that the lap felt alright,” said Ricciardo, who’s failed to reach Q3 in his last four attempts here. “At least with what I could feel, it felt like pretty much all I could do. A couple of bits here and there, but I felt like the lap was decent, and when it feels alright and you still don’t get into Q3, that’s what’s obviously a bit painful.”

In what is looking set to be a hot Hungarian Grand Prix, Ricciardo at least has the theoretical benefit of being able to choose his starting tyres from 11th on the grid, with all but the Mercedes drivers in the top 10 due to start on the less durable soft tyres.

However, once the race was finished, Ricciardo couldn’t deny that he was looking forward to the post-Hungary summer break to reset following a “tricky” start to life with McLaren in 2021.

“Tyre choice will be a positive tomorrow, but still it proves tricky, this beast,” said Ricciardo. “I’ll keep trying, keep doing homework, that’s all. Let’s see what happens tomorrow and then I’ve got the summer break to switch off for a bit.”

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