The eight-time grand prix winner had been expected to lead the RB charge having returned to F1 midway through last season, but instead, he has endured a difficult season and been outperformed by team-mate Yuki Tsunoda.
Matters were compounded when he clashed with Albon at Turn 3 on the opening lap of the Suzuka race which sent both drivers into the barriers.
After giving his take on the clash, Ricciardo was eager to stress in his mind it wasn’t connected to his poor form and “just one of those things” in terms of a typical first-lap collision.
“Today is [a] singular moment. I don't look at today and think 'oh, man this year,' like... 'when it rains, it pours,' or whatever. I feel it was just one of those things,” Ricciardo said.
“We know [across] that 24 races, it's likely that maybe I'm involved in another lap one incident, there's just probability [that] these things kind of happen. It obviously sucks when they do. But I don't look at it any more than today being a kind of singular incident.
“Of course, [it] would have been nice to get a race under our belt and try to show a little bit of something that I felt we were starting to show yesterday. We'll do that in China. I'm actually testing on Tuesday. So the laps that I missed today - I'll get back on Tuesday.”
Source: Autosport