Details emerge after Daniel Ricciardo dudded in Australian Grand Prix

Details have emerged after Daniel Ricciardo was ordered not to pressure teammate Lando Norris in the final stages of the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, denying the Aussie a potentially higher finish.

A grand prix billed as a showdown between Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari and the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez finished with the Monaco driver as a one-sided winner.

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The 24-year-old Leclerc extended his lead in the drivers’ championship to 34 points while claiming his second win of the season after victory in the season-opening race in Bahrain.

McLaren drivers Norris and Ricciardo finished fifth and sixth respectively, a marked improvement after a horror start to the season for the British team.

However it would have been bittersweet for Ricciardo after he was ordered not to "put pressure" on his teammate late in the race.

Norris limped to the finish line on Sunday, with Ricciardo finishing strong after starting the race in seventh.

But the Aussie fell victim to team orders when it looked like he could overtake Norris and claim fifth spot for himself.

“Daniel, we’re managing something on Lando’s car," Ricciardo was told on his radio.

"It’s OK to close the gap - but don’t put him under pressure.

"This is the last lap. Don’t get too close to Lando, he may lose power."

Ricciardo responded: “If he loses power, what do I do?”

The McLaren engineer replied: “Oh, drive past! I just don’t want you to hit him.”

Daniel Ricciardo 'satisfied enough' with sixth

Speaking after the race, Ricciardo said he fully understood the decision.

“Looked like a bit of a photo finish, I was told Lando had a few issues towards the end," he told Sky Sports.

"Obviously he slowed down quite a lot so the team said, uhh... be sensible.

“I had to control myself a little bit but of course a fifth and a sixth is a massive result for us so far this year.

“If you would’ve said this in Bahrain I probably would’ve laughed sarcastically, so very happy with this progress.”

Ricciardo said he was “satisfied enough" with the result.

"It’s by far our best result of the season, personally and as a team result,” he said.

“First part of the race I thought maybe we had a bit for Mercedes, we were kinda there with them and holding their DRS, but as the race kinda progressed, that was probably our pace.”

Ricciardo is now 11th in the drivers’ championship on eight points, with Norris sitting in eighth on 16 points.

Leclerc became the first Ferrari driver since Fernando Alonso in Singapore in 2010 to complete a racing “grand slam” - comprised of winning pole position, leading wire-to-wire and also posting the fastest time.

The drivers’ championship leader, who pitted on Lap 22, posted a fastest lap of 1 minute, 20.260 seconds with a final-lap flourish and was clearly the quickest car all weekend, which he described as a pleasing surprise.

“Honestly, what a car today. Of course, I did a good job all weekend, but it was not possible without the car,” he said.

with agencies

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