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Ricciardo's horror run continues after collision with Vettel

Daniel Ricciardo has suffered his fifth retirement in 10 races after a first-lap crash with Sebastian Vettel at the US Grand Prix.

Vettel made contact with the Aussie driver’s car and spun on the opening lap on Monday morning (AEST).

Vettel, the only man who can deny Briton Lewis Hamilton a fifth Formula One championship, started in fifth at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas.

But the German made contact with Ricciardo’s Red Bull car at turn 13 as the pair were battling for fourth place, before spinning out and dropping into 15th.

Ricciardo appeared unscathed after the collision, but his Red Bull car ground to a halt not long after with a mechanical failure.

Ricciardo collided with Vettel and retired soon after. Image: Fox Sports
Ricciardo collided with Vettel and retired soon after. Image: Fox Sports

The Aussie driver was visibly fuming as he left his car trackside and walked away to the pits.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner took a dig at Renault, Red Bull’s engine providers and Ricciardo’s next employer.

“It was a crying shame for Daniel and I feel so sorry for him,” Horner told Sky.

“It looks like the identical power issue from Bahrain. He was driving a strong race, it’s so frustrating for him.

“I hope no more penalties, we should have enough components for him not to. I’m sure he will have a word with his future employers about this because it’s so frustrating losing him from races.”

Daniel Ricciardo was fuming. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
Daniel Ricciardo was fuming. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Kimi Raikkonen claimed his first Formula 1 win in five years, as Hamilton’s 2018 title celebrations were delayed.

Raikkonen overcame Hamilton at the start and withstood late pressure from Max Verstappen, who started 18th, and the Mercedes driver to finally win in his second spell with Ferrari and clinch his first success since the 2013 Australian GP with Lotus.

Second place would have given Hamilton the title and he went wheel-to-wheel with Verstappen with three laps to go, but could not make it stick, eventually running off-track at Turn 18.

Vettel’s fourth place, having passed Valtteri Bottas late on in his recovery drive, means Hamilton leads by 69 points with 75 on offer in the final three grands prix.

with agencies