Ricciardo: It’s nice to finish on a high

Red Bull arrived at the Hungaroring expecting the tight venue to suit their car, but the wet qualifying for some reason stumped their drivers who were unable to extract the performance they expected when it mattered.

Thus it was no surprise that at the end of the day Ricciardo was savouring his ballsy driver in which he again he delivered numerous clinical overtakes that he is now famous for. His charge through the field, when he settled down and found the sweet spot, was for many the drive of the day.

Granted there was an element of luck, particularly when Valtteri Bottas speared his gripless Mercedes into the side of the Red Bull as they tussled for position in the closing laps of the race.

In the end, Ricciardo survived to tell the tale, "It’s nice to finish on a high. I feel it’s been a few races where I haven’t really been happy, so it's nice to get a good one today. The start was hectic. I got beaten around a little bit and then we managed to find our way through, so that was fun. With Valtteri as well, but got him at the last lap so that felt better."

“The first few laps were not really fun. I was getting a little bit hit around at Turn 1. I think it was Ocon, let’s call it a Force India. Went to pass on the outside of Turn 6 but was never going to make it, he then cut the chicane and stayed in front of me for two laps."

“That was frustrating, I was on the radio saying he was basically killing my race because he shouldn’t be in front. I thought about cutting the chicane myself and getting back in front of him. Eventually, he let me pass, and we could set a rhythm. Once we set a rhythm, it was fun.”

“The battle with Valtteri, I wouldn’t call it that fun. I felt a bit of a knock on the inside, but passing him back felt good. I feel I did all I could, I gave him enough room. I guess with the damage, he went in pretty hot. Definitely over the top, but I wanted to still get him back on track as opposed to wait for a penalty.”

Ricciardo will be on testing duty this Tuesday before taking a well-deserved break along with the rest of Formula 1 world, after an unprecedented and gruelling dozen race spell. The Australian lies fifth in the championship with nine rounds remaining.