WATCH: Daniel Ricciardo fumes at team after poor pit stop ruins his race in Hungary

Daniel Ricciardo expressed his deep frustration with his team's strategy during the Hungarian Grand Prix, a race where his potential was undercut by questionable decision-making from his team. Ricciardo, who had shown promising form by topping the opening part of qualifying and securing a Q3 appearance, was ultimately left to settle for a disappointing 12th-place finish.

"I’m trying to bite my tongue, but you must know how I feel about the first stop," Ricciardo conveyed to his race engineer. The team's response was less than satisfactory, acknowledging the need for a review but offering no immediate apology or explanation.

Here is the video:

📻 Daniel: “I’m really trying to bite my tongue, but you must know how I feel about the first stop.”



📻 Pierre: “Understood.”



📻 Daniel: “if you feel the same, please…”



📻 Pierre: “We’ll review everything. I don’t know what to say now.” pic.twitter.com/pA3UFhUcXP https://t.co/EiVt9VF38X

— meredith (@mereeedithh) July 21, 2024

Ricciardo’s race was significantly hampered by the early pit stop call. Starting on medium tyres, he had a strong opportunity to capitalize on clear track space after the initial chaos of the start. However, his team’s decision to pit him after just eight laps placed him behind slower cars, essentially trapping him in a DRS train and stifling any chance of progression.

The Australian driver's irritation was palpable during his post-race interview. He pointedly criticized his team's decision to call for an early pit stop, a strategy that he believed compromised his race. "Why they pitted me when they did at the beginning, we followed the soft cars in," Ricciardo explained post-race. "They’ve just come in, we have a clear track, and we decided to get behind them and put ourselves in a DRS train."

Daniel Ricciardo questioned the holding-off strategy too

The frustration didn't end with the pit-stop strategy. Ricciardo also highlighted his irritation at being tasked with holding off faster cars on worn tyres. "Lance Stroll’s catching me a second a lap and maybe more, and they’re saying it’s really important to keep him behind," he recalled. 

The early pit stop had left Daniel Ricciardo in a vulnerable position, unable to effectively defend against faster cars. "You’ve pitted me so early, I’m on older tyres, so I’m also being expected to fight when we’re not really in a fight anymore," he added, clearly exasperated.

Despite his frustration, Ricciardo showed a level of professionalism by following the team's orders, albeit reluctantly. He questioned the strategy even as he was executing it, but there was little he could do once the decision was made. "Honestly, as soon as I’m pulling in the pits I’m questioning it, but you can’t do anything about it. You get called in Turn 13 and you have to react," Ricciardo noted.