Red Bull team boss Christian Horner did not know if he should laugh or cry Sunday as Daniel Ricciardo crossed the to finish sixth at the Bahrain Grand Prix – and his car’s Renault engine exploded in smoke behind him.
It was his third engine failure in four races this year, leaving the Red Bull team on the cusp of serious problems with the four-engine limit for the season with 15 races to go.
“We are now on our engine limit,” said Horner, who did not reignite the once-blazing war of words with his team’s French engine supplier. “That’s three engines in four races…”
Australian Ricciardo said: “I drove well, but it was a bit of a lonely sixth place.
“I think the team is getting there – we are getting there, making improvements.
“The top three teams are out of reach, but coming into the European season, I think we will find a bit more.
“The biggest gaps have been seen and I think they will only get smaller.
“There was a lot of smoke at the end so it didn’t look great! But the bright side is I just got over the line, but literally out of the last corner I saw smoke everywhere.