Daniel Ricciardo's frustrating start to the 2022 Formula 1 season has continued, retiring from the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix due to an engine failure.
The Australian appeared to be in a strong position for a top-ten finish but suffered a mechanical fault that was seemingly out of his control.
Max Verstappen scored his first race victory of the new season, as he looks to defend his title.
Ricciardo's driving partner Lando Norris was able to secure McLaren's first points of the season, finishing seventh.
Speaking after the race, he was able to see the positives from another disheartening weekend.
“I don’t know the actual failure yet,” Ricciardo said.
“It could be maybe like a driveshaft or something because the gear would still select, but then I just had no forward movement ... so something definitely broke.
"I think we could have had a double-points (finish) which is pretty awesome from where we were a week ago.
"It was looking alright, so I think there's some positives to take from the weekend.
"We still have a lot to go, but certainly some progress which is nice."
The 32-year-old initially qualified 12th in Jeddah but was handed a three-place grid penalty after impeding Alpine driver Esteban Ocon in Q2.
The decision to pit for hard-compound tyres on lap eight seemed to pay dividends as he slowly moved up the field as the race progressed.
Just when a points finish seemed in reach, his car began to rapidly slow, coming to a halt before the pit lane before he was then pushed out of harm's way by track marshals.
However, he wasn't the only driver to retire, with Alpine's Fernando Alonso and Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas also suffering issues on the same lap.
At the front of the grid, Red Bull's Max Verstappen got the better of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, with this year's two title frontrunners engaging in a thrilling duel for the second consecutive race.
The nature of their recent battles is proof that this year's new car regulations are having the desired effect on racing, according to Ricciardo.
"The racing is fun, you can follow this year and I think that everything we hoped would come out of these new cars is so far bearing true," he said.
"Watching the battle for the lead (between Verstappen and Leclerc), it's really awesome to see that racing.
"Of course I want to be there, but to know that we can fight hard like that this year, it's really exciting."
Next stop, @Melbourne 🇦🇺 #AusGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/3ZVMli8biS
— F1 Australian Grand Prix (@ausgrandprix) March 27, 2022
The next stop for Ricciardo is Melbourne, with Formula 1 returning to Australia for the first time since 2019.
The event was dramatically cancelled in 2020 amid rising cases of COVID-19 before the pandemic prevented a 2021 edition of the Grand Prix.
As the only Australian driver on the grid, Ricciardo hopes home fans will be able to witness a strong performance from McLaren.
"I'm excited to go back home and compete there," he said.
"We can't promise amazing results yet, but we've got to keep at it and I'm sure better things are on the horizon.
"It still might ebb and flow depending on the circuits we go to.
"But looking at Melbourne, the changes they've made, I think it's going to be quite flowing and hopefully that suits us."
2022 Drivers' Championship - Current Standings
1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 45
2. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) - 33
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 25
4. George Russell (Mercedes) - 22
5. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) - 16
