Ricciardo: “There are still things missing”
Happy with his fourth position at the Russian Grand Prix, Daniel Ricciardo admits that there are still things missing to reach the desired level this season.
Daniel Ricciardo seems to have found his smile again. The driver is having a tough first season with McLaren. For a long time, the Australian struggled behind the wheel of his car, seeing his teammate deliver exceptional performances while he didn’t perform as well. But since the return from the summer break, the Honey Badger is finally showing some improvement.
After his brilliant and well-deserved victory in Monza, Daniel Ricciardo repeats with a fourth place finish at the Russian Grand Prix. The former Renault driver had a good weekend. His very good qualifying – 5th on the starting grid – confirmed the expectations placed on him after his race win in Italy. While driver #3 acknowledges his good result at the end of the race, he admits, however, that there are still adjustments to be made in his car.
« These are good points. There are still things I want to look at. There were moments where I felt good, but the lap times were still not good, so I want to investigate a little what is going on. The points in the race are good, but with a poor pace. There are still some things missing, we will try to find a solution. »
Just like the other drivers, the Australian had to deal with rain at the end of the race. Unlike his teammate, who wanted to keep the slicks until the end, he was able to take advantage of the weather conditions. The McLaren driver perfectly mastered his car on the wet track and managed to secure a fourth place. He believes that with a few more laps, he could even have overtaken Sainz.
« When the conditions are like this, it can quickly deteriorate. […] I could see Sainz after we stopped and at the start on intermediates, he pulled away. I then caught up and maybe with a few more laps, we could have closed the gap. There are positives, but things to work on. »
With his new performance in Sochi, Daniel Ricciardo is getting closer and closer to the top 5 in the drivers’ standings, but above all to Leclerc who is nine points ahead of him. It is also his third top four in four races. Is the return to form of the paddock’s most smiling man?
