Daniel Ricciardo expressed great content with his Monaco Grand prix podium after a difficult qualifying in the Principality.
The Australian criticized the his Red Bull team after Saturday’s official grid session because of the time they chose to let him on the track. In the race though the strategy was impeccable and he crossed the finish line after the tow Ferraris.
“I’m really pleased to be up here, it’s hard to make any positions. I was frustrated on Saturday because I knew we had so much more to offer, to give, than what we showed. I felt like I didn’t get to show my pace”, Ricciardo explained.
“How the pit-stops worked, the two cars pitting before me, allowing me to show a bit more of my pace, that was perfect. I got into a rhythm. At the time I think my pace was really strong, so I managed to do a really good overcut. That was fun. That definitely made my race today.”
“The Safety Car nearly ruined my race. I hit the wall at Turn 1, I hit it pretty hard and assumed I had damage, then saw Valtteri [Bottas]… you don’t see much in these mirrors, and I knew he was coming, but I just managed to hold on. I was quite happy to see the chequered flag!”
“Today, certainly some redemption – the podium was the icing on the cake” says @danielricciardo #MonacoGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/DGQ804aSZo
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 28, 2017
Daniel Ricciardo expressed great content with his Monaco Grand prix podium after a difficult qualifying in the Principality
His teammate Max Verstappen was far less happy with his fourth place.
“It is very disappointing after such a clean weekend where everything has gone really well to then feel I lost out on a podium, but I guess that is racing”, the Dutchman concluded. “I tried everything I could to get close to Bottas. You can say we stopped too early or should have gone longer. But that is always easy to think after the race. Even after the safety car, I was on fresh, softer rubber but with the wide cars and dirty air you can’t make a move and I had no real chance of overtaking here. I think I did 77 laps in traffic. That isn’t much fun and I couldn’t push but at least we finished the race which is the biggest positive from the day.”
What can I say? Very disappointed with the way the strategy unfolded for me. On to Montreal. #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/fMzfQFB3MW
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) May 28, 2017
