Daniel Ricciardo causes huge collision but goes on to complete one of his best drives in years

Daniel Ricciardo’s stint at the Mexican Grand Prix almost turned into a disaster, only for the Australian to turn it around and produce one of his best races of the season.

The Aussie copped a 10-second penalty after causing a collision 20 laps from the finish.

A pit stop saw Ricciardo drop down to 13th position as the McLaren driver took to desperate measures in an attempt to make up ground.

Although, he almost took it too far as he was attempting to overtake AlpbaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda.

Riccardo lacked grip as he attempted to drive past the Japanese driver and instead slammed into his rival.

Tsunoda could be heard on the team radio screaming ‘what the f**k is he doing?’

The crash caused Tsunoda to furiously limp back to the pits and unfortunately retire from the race.

Ricciardo was handed a 10-second penalty by the race stewards who deemed him to be at fault for the crash.

"Your front axles have got to be aligned with each other if you're going to pull a move like that," Martin Brundle said in commentary.

"He just didn't have good enough traction with the McLaren to make it work out."

The penalty only served to fire the Aussie up as he went on to make a brilliant array of overtakes against his rivals.

Ricciardo was allowed to pass teammate Lando Norris before going on to sprint past Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon as he surged up to the seventh position.

He made good on his 10-second penalty ensuring he didn’t lose his place, driving one of his best races of the year to keep his seventh-placed position.

The 33-year-old has struggled for form in recent times but showed that he still has the ability to be a major player in Formula 1.

He was praised on commentary for his skill and grit.

Martin Brundle said: “Welcome back Daniel, we missed you.”

David Croft praised the Aussie, saying: “He’s driven with fire in his belly, hunger and aggression.”

Max Verstappen led from the get-go and cruised to a record 14th win of the season, surpassing Michael Schumacher’s record of 13 from 18 races.

However, Ricciardo’s efforts clearly impressed as he was voted driver of the day.

Featured Image Credit: F1 Australian Grand Prix/Twitter. Sky Sport.

Topics: Australia, Daniel Ricciardo, Formula 1, Motorsport

Jayden Collins

Jayden Collins is a Journalist at SPORTbible. He has worked across multiple media platforms in areas such as sport, music, pop culture, entertainment and politics. He is part of the editorial team for LADbible Australia.