The McLaren driver had a dramatic startꦕ to his race when he could not engage first gear after lining up on the grid as the field prepared for the start light sequence🌺 to begin. 

Ricciardo was seen waving to signal what he initially thought was a gearbox failure, though it was actually a prob♌lem relating to the 💦clutch paddle. 

After reporting over team radio that “I can’t get first gear, it went into anti-stall”, Ricciardo was instructed by race engineer Tom Stallard to use the paddle on the opposite side on his steering wheel and complete a “l💝eft-hand launch”. 

Explaining the incident after the race, the Australia﷽n admitted he went through “some stressf🍰ul moments”. 

“We have two clutch paddles, you have your preferred one and if you are right-handed you would proba💞bly choose the right-hand one for the start,” Ricciardo said. “That one chose not to work.

“I was on the grid stressing because🍰 it was not engaging, so I thought I had a gearbox problem. I was waving my hands and thinking I would have to get pulled off the grid.

“I tried the left one and it worked, so I’m trying to figure out how to do a start with my left hand. So I wa🍎s prepared for a pretty poor start.” 

Asked if he has ever practiced a wrong-handed clutch start before, Ricciardo responded: “I should. In Monaco, you are forced to do it exiting the pits because you are turning the other way and 🥃it is easier with your left hand to turn the wheel.

“I will practice it a few more times.”

While Ricciardo immediately lost a position ♕to George Russell when the lights went out, he was able to re-pass the Williams driver before sneaking by Alfa Rom𝔉eo’s Antonio Giovinazzi at Turn 7. 

“As expected, Russell got me straight away but actually I managed to get him back, and then Gꦆiovinazzi as well in Turn 7,” he said. 

“I gained a position on lap one whe💖n I thought I was going to lose many, so that was fun.💎”

Ricciardo eventually slipped out of the🐎 points to 11th after being overtaken by Sergio Perez’s recovering Red Bull and💃 his McLaren teammate Lando Norris. 

“With Perez, I 🍷tried to hold on but he was quick,🤡” Ricciardo added. “In hindsight, I could’ve probably run him off the track, but it was a matter of time until he got around.

“We tried a strategy to help the team and La🎃ndo but I don’t think it worked. We will try and analyse that now and see what we could’ve done better.”