How future teammate ruined Ricciardo's Belgian Grand Prix

Daniel Ricciardo has experienced a shocking Belgian Grand Prix in the first race weekend since he announced his looming exit from Red Bull.

In an unfortunate twist of fate, his Sunday was ended by his future Renault teammate.

In the first of nine farewell races following the summer break, Ricciardo’s race was effectively over after the first lap.

From eighth on the grid he was caught up in a massive shunt primarily involving Nico Hulkenberg, who Ricciardo will race alongside next year, and Fernando Alonso.

Ricciardo was in the middle of a pack heading into the first turn when Hulkenberg missed the breaking point and sent Alonso’s McLaren flying over the top of Sauber’s Charles Leclerc.

While Leclerc was saved by the controversial halo head protection unit, Alonso’s car destroyed Ricciardo’s rear wing after being launched sideways into the air.

Ricciardo then tagged Kimi Raikkonen to also damage his Red Bull’s front wing and puncture his Ferrari rival’s right rear tyre.

“I remember sliding and next minute I was in the back of Kimi,” he said.

“It all happened pretty quick but what I remember was getting a hit initially and then looking and then I’m basically in the back of Kimi on the exit.”

Ricciardo was forced into the garage to replace the rear wing, a more complicated procedure than the twist-and-pull front wing, and would re-enter the race a lap down.

He had lost pace after the repair and Red Bull opted to retire the car with 14 laps left to protect key engine and gearbox components.

The Australian, who wasn’t penalised or reprimanded for his clash with Raikkonen, chose not to go overboard criticising his 2019 teammate Hulkenberg.

“It’s what you get when you’ve had a bad qualifying,” Ricciardo said.

“People start doing things that obviously don’t work very well. I got hit and that’s it.”

Renault’s Hulkenberg accepted responsibility for the first-lap collision and received a 10-place grid penalty for the Italian Grand Prix.

“When I hit the brakes, it locked up the front wheels and I slid. These cars are aerodynamically sensitive, especially with cars bunching up ahead as you lose a lot of grip and load,” he said.

“I have to admit it caught me by surprise today. It was probably a misjudgement from my side as I was a bit late on the brakes, so it’s frustrating for me, the team, and the other drivers caught up in the incident.

“That’s racing and unfortunately these things happen. We have Monza next weekend, so I want to get this out of the system as soon as possible and focus on that.”

Ricciardo wants to do the same but this coming weekend in Italy might not be all that flash.

He’s likely to find himself towards the back of the grid, perhaps somewhere near Hulkenberg.

“Daniel will be taking an engine penalty next weekend for sure,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner warned after the race in Belgium.

There is a positive, however: the Australian has form in that exact scenario at Monza.

Last year he was demoted to 16th on the grid after penalties for engine and gearbox changes.

Numerous overtakes and one spectacular pass on Raikkonen later, Ricciardo finished fourth in what was one of the drives of the entire 2017 season.