Ricciardo sixth at Australian GP

Local hope Daniel Ricciardo has again been denied an Australian Grand Prix podium spot, finishing in sixth place at the Formula One season opener in Melbourne.

Twelve months ago, Ricciardo was sensationally disqualified by officials hours after standing on the podium at second place in front of delirious Melbourne fans.

The Perth-born driver again walked away from Alfred Park empty-handed on Sunday, but in far less traumatic circumstances.

At one stage, Ricciardo would have been satisfied with starting after practice dramas.

However, he will have plenty to ponder before the second round at Malaysia in a fortnight after his unresponsive Red Bull was one of a number of vehicles lapped by runaway winner Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes.

Ricciardo famously bounced back from his Albert Park heartache last year to finish third overall in 2014 championship with three wins – the only non-Mercedes driver to record a victory.

But it remains to be seen how Ricciardo responds after an underwhelming 2015 start.

The countdown to the race alone was an emotional roller coaster ride for Ricciardo.

He had a horror lead-up, missing one practice session entirely as mechanics installed a new power unit in his Red Bull Racing car.

And on Saturday his car stopped altogether and had to be pushed back to the pits.

But barely an hour before the race started Ricciardo moved up one spot to sixth place on the grid following the withdrawal of Williams’ Valtteri Bottas (back).

He failed to improve on that during the race after being stuck behind plucky Sauber driver Felipe Nasr, who defied the team’s legal stoush with driver Giedo van der Garde to shine on debut.

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