Daniel Ricciardo says he is thankful that he made a bad start during the Singapore Grand Prix, believing it probably saved him from getting caught up in the chaos that ensued.
Ricciardo was slow off the line, which saw him drop behind Lewis Hamilton, whilst Fernando Alonso got a great start, leaping the pair. Just moments later the leading trio of Max Verstappen, Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel collided, taking Alonso out in the process.
Ricciardo believes his start probably saved him, allowing him to finish second behind eventual winner Hamilton.
"I can’t win the bloody thing! I’m trying. I’m trying," said Ricciardo, after taking his third-consecutive runner-up finish at Singapore. "I like it around here.
"Today we didn’t have that Friday pace we showed in practice to have the pace over Mercedes.
"I’m a little bit disappointed to miss out on the win but I’ve still got to be grateful and happy with another podium."
He added: "I just kind of just watched the chaos unfold in front of me. It was probably a good thing that I had a bad start, otherwise I probably would have got caught up in it.
"It just looked like three were trying to go into one. I don’t know whose fault it was, it was just too close."
