McLaren has revealed that Daniel Ricciardo ran with a damaged floor for much of the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday, which “cost a considerable amount of downforce”.
The damage occurred after contact was made between Ricciardo and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly at the Safety Car restart on Lap 4.
Ricciardo moved ahead of Gasly at Turn 4, but as the Frenchman attempted to follow him through the middle sector, his front wing collided with Ricciardo’s rear.
While Gasly was forced to make a pit stop, Ricciardo was able to continue, but a post-race inspection revealed that his car suffered damage in the impact, which stripped away a portion of performance.
The Australian crossed the line in seventh place, while team-mate Lando Norris was fourth on the road
“Post-race we found damage to Daniel’s floor from the impact of Pierre running into the back of his car at the beginning of the race,” McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl said.
“The level of damage cost a considerable amount of downforce. Despite the performance loss Daniel used his experience to cope with the issues and score important points for the team. We now look forward to the next race.”
On Sunday, Ricciardo admitted he “struggled quite a bit in the race”, as he “couldn’t really extract the pace from the car”.
After the opening round, McLaren sits third in the Constructors’ Championship, where it ended the 2020 campaign.
