Daniel Ricciardo says there is one positive from his miserable Australian Grand Prix - the fact that it is now over.
The Australian capped a wretched weekend by failing to finish Sunday's season-opening Formula One race in Melbourne
Ricciardo crashed during Saturday qualifying and the necessary repairs to his car meant he copped a penalty, sliding five spots down the grid.
But the sanction didn't matter: Ricciardo's car got stuck in sixth gear in a warm-up lap, meaning he started from pit lane - some two laps behind his rivals.
Then, midway through the race, the engine on his Red Bull Racing car gave up.
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"On the plus side, I'm getting out of here," Ricciardo said after a race won by Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.
"It has been a long week ... I feel bad for everyone, for the fans.
"Obviously there's more people here supporting me than the others and I'm sure they would have loved me to get out there and race but it just kind of snowballed."
Ricciardo said his troubles would ultimately provide more motivation heading into the next grand prix in Shanghai from April 7.
"For all these things to happen at my home race, that is probably the most frustrating thing," he said.
"We were on the back foot already after the crash in qualifying. And then we had an issue during the warm-up lap, followed by a second issue in the race.
"On both occasions the car just came to a stop, so I couldn't do anything else.
"But it's the first race so hopefully we'll move forward from this.
"I'll wake up and be motivated to get ready for China."
