Daniel Ricciardo by Daniel Istitine Getty Images

F1 driver has some harsh words for a rival and says he had, by far, the better car


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Daniel Ricciardo finished fifth in the Formula One standings for the season, and he was one spot behind Kimi Raikkonen after the final race of the year.

Ricciardo failed to finish at Yas Marina, while Raikkonen finished fourth in the season finale. Ricciardo, who drives for Red Bull Racing, said he's not surprised Raikkonen finished in front of him considering he drives a Ferrari.

"If I'm brutally honest, with that car he should have been a long way in front in the championship," Ricciardo said via ESPN. So, yeah, I don't think it's a big deal."

Ricciardo and Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen suffered several retirements this season as it was a difficult year for Red Bull.

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He was clearly frustrated with his performance on the year with the the mechanical failures from Red Bull. Ricciardo said it was a difficult year all around, and it's tough knowing he won't have another chance until next season.

"This one hurts actually, probably more than the others," Ricciardo said. "Obviously I was gutted in Austin, but we had another chance in a week's time, but I don't have another chance until March now.

"It's just reliability, nothing I could have done to prevent it. Pretty bitter way to end the season to be honest. Sure, we had some highs but we finished in a bit of a trench."

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Although it was a frustrating year, Ricciardo still finished fifth and had a solid season given the circumstances. Of course, as a competitor he wanted to be closer to contending for the the title, but it's unlikely he would've surpassed Lewis Hamilton even if Ricciardo was driving for Ferrari or Mercedes.