McLaren have confirmed that Daniel Ricciardo raced with damage on his MCL35M during the Bahrain Grand Prix. The Australian was defending from AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly after the early Safety Car, when the French driver hit the back of the McLaren. While Gasly suffered immediate front wing and floor damage that ruined his race, Ricciardo appeared to have emerged unscathed and went onto finish in seventh. "Post-race, we found damage to Daniel's floor from the impact of Pierre running into the back of his car at the beginning of the race," said Andreas Seidl. "The level of damage cost a considerable amount of downforce. "Despite the performance loss, Daniel used his experience to cope with the issues and score important points for the team. We now look forward to the next race." Ricciardo had appeared strangely subdued during the Bahrain Grand Prix. Having started from sixth place, he was passed by teammate Lando Norris on the opening lap. Following the Safety Car and the Gasly incident , Ricciardo fell to over twenty seconds behind Norris by the chequered flag, having run the same strategy throughout. Speaking after the race, Ricciardo said that he hoped that he had picked up some damage to explain his lack of pace. "I kind of hope I have damage," Ricciardo told RacingNews365.com and other select members of the press. " Maybe it explains some of the pace. To be honest, I didn't know, I heard he had damage. So I only saw him at the end of the race and said, 'Oh, what happened?' And he goes, I ran into the back of you. So I had no idea! "But yeah, if my floor looks destroyed then, I'll probably sleep better tonight. You know, all I'll say is I felt like I got slower as the race went on. "
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