Daniel Ricciardo’s Tongue-in-Cheek Call for Nelson Piquet Jr. to Save Singapore GP Amid Qualifying Woes

Daniel Ricciardo humorously suggests that Nelson Piquet should return to help improve his performance at the Singapore Grand Prix. Ricciardo quipped, "Hopefully, we get a safety car at the right moment. Bring back Piquet, and let's do it."

Daniel Ricciardo humorously remarked that he wishes Nelson Piquet Jr. could return to the F1 grid to rescue his Singapore Grand Prix weekend, alluding to the infamous 2008 Crashgate incident.

Daniel Ricciardo was eliminated in the first qualifying session at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, potentially marking his last F1 qualifying appearance.

The short-term future of the Australian in Formula 1 is uncertain, with speculation indicating that Liam Lawson might take his place at the United States Grand Prix next month.

Ricciardo's recent poor performance won't boost his prospects, especially as Yuki Tsunoda – driving the other VCARB – advanced to Q3.

True to his usual style, Ricciardo made light of the scenario by jesting that he would like to see Piquet Jr. return to the racing circuit to trigger a perfectly timed Safety Car, helping him advance in the standings just like it happened in 2008.

Renault instructed the Brazilian driver to intentionally crash, which would trigger the deployment of the Safety Car and assist Fernando Alonso in securing victory in the first-ever race held in Singapore.

Daniel Ricciardo expressed his disappointment with the Q1 result, stating, "The outcome of Q1 is really frustrating. Given everything that’s been happening, I genuinely believed today would be better. That's why I'm left wondering how we ended up in Q1," according to a report by Autosport.

"I usually aim to stay positive, but today was filled with negativity. Therefore, I'll immerse myself in an ice bath and you can expect to find me floating there tomorrow."

"With any luck, a timely safety car will appear. We need to get Piquet back in the race and make it successful."

Throughout practice, Ricciardo demonstrated impressive speed, positioning VCARB as the fifth-quickest team going into the qualifying session.

The ex-Red Bull driver experienced a downfall, attributing it to poor performance with the soft tires.

Ricciardo mentioned that they didn't make significant adjustments. "We were in a strong position yesterday and felt positive about it, so we weren't scrambling for solutions. To be honest, the medium tires performed well this morning, and it felt like we continued from where we left off yesterday. However, once I switched to the soft tires, my performance dropped significantly."

"We made some adjustments for qualifying and I thought we would be fine, but once more, I didn't feel at ease with the soft tires."

"It was… I'd describe it as unpleasant because we were out somewhere yesterday, honestly, and we didn't anticipate… there weren't any significant errors, but I realized as soon as I finished that it wasn't fast. It just didn't feel quite right."

Earlier today, it was evident that the soft tires were ineffective, as none of the three sets we used performed competitively.

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