Engine progress aside, Daniel Ricciardo is sure of his strength!
Daniel Ricciardo dominated this afternoon's race in Monaco, benefiting from the improvements made to his Renault engine. The Australian can now look forward to Qualifying.
Under pressure from Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo will certainly experience a calmer Friday after this excellent second free practice session, finishing at the top of the timesheets.
Even though Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg mainly focused on long runs (48 laps for the German), alternating between super-soft and ultra-soft tires, the Red Bull driver nevertheless positions himself as a true challenger to the two Mercedes, with a best time and a margin of over six-tenths!
That being said, Ricciardo first wanted to put into perspective the progress made by the Viry-Châtillon team: « My engine is more efficient, but that’s not everything… Basically, we have a good car here, so I think we can really compete with them (pointing to the Mercedes). But as I always say, let’s wait to see how things go in the Qualifying. Until then, I’m happy! »
Confident in himself, the Australian driver spoke, not without irony, about the engine improvements made to his RB12: « I think that 99.9% of my improvements come from my driving, the remaining 0.1% are definitely attributed to my new parts here and there on the car! »
In this perspective, he made sure to highlight the quality of his driving, as if to better emphasize his worth against a certain Max Verstappen: « It is clear that this track allows you to highlight the gaps when you’re driving on the edge. I always enjoy racing here in Monaco. This afternoon, I felt more at ease with the car. I think we made good progress! »
So, is Daniel Ricciardo heading towards a very nice surprise this Saturday?
I think we have a good operational window. But everything will depend on the evolution of the track on Saturday. If the conditions are the same, I don’t think the situation will reverse. I have good confidence in the car: it’s the most important thing here!
In any case, even if Ricciardo seems to handle the pressure quite well, from an outsider’s perspective, the driver marked with the number 3 knows he can make a big impact this weekend.
All or nothing ♠️♥️♣️♦️ https://t.co/7eZ7V6DcZd
— Daniel Ricciardo (@danielricciardo) May 24, 2016
For the anecdote, the last pole position by a Red Bull is still the work of Sebastian Vettel, at the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2013, which was the last Grand Prix with V6 engines. An eternity…
