Ricciardo: I’m learning all the time but enjoying it

It is always good to see big smiling Daniel Ricciardo on the podium as he clearly enjoys the occasion and this time around thoroughly deserved second place in the Singapore Grand Prix after a fine weekend where he made the most of the Red Bull RB11 which proved around the twists of Marina Bay Circuit, The Australian spoke after the race.

Looks like you’re a bit of a local boy here? There are a lot of Aussie flags here. You have a lot of support. I know [Vettel] is your old team-mate but he did back you up didn’t he? He did try to stumble you. He wanted you to let go, so that Kimi could pass you?
Daniel Ricciardo: I think Seb experimented a bit today. The start of the race he just went, but realised towards the end of the stint I was coming. I think if wasn’t for the safety car it would have got pretty close in terms of the pit stop – maybe an undercut was possible. But, yeah, then the second stint seemed like he had learned for the first, backed us up and then just went after that. I think both safety cars came out at a pretty crucial time. Nonetheless, his pace was good and it was quite representative of qualifying, you know. We seemed to be the two quickest cars today.

You talk about being the quickest car: were you surprised, because you targeted this race didn’t you? You always thought that Red Bull would be strong here.
DR: Yeah, it’s really good to back it up. We came in here pretty confident. I’m always careful not to be overconfident but yeah I think the pace we showed all weekend was strong. The race pace was good; I think we matched Seb, so we’ve got to be pretty happy with this weekend. It’s nice again to capitalise; Budapest we had a chance and we’ve done it again here.

Your best result of the season so far. After the first stint your engineer said that your pace and degradation were both very good, so was there any optimism at any point that you might get the win today or did both stops coming under the safety car put paid to chance of doing something with strategy that might have helped you?
DR: I think that sort of dictated the race really. I’m not saying there were any guarantees but I think in the first stint we were coming on quite strong. It was obvious Seb pushed pretty hard at the beginning to break let’s say the DRS and all of that, but then as the laps were ticking down we were starting to come alive, I was able lean on the tyres a bit more and I could see it was working in my hands. So when I saw the safety car come out I was a bit frustrated, but I knew there was one more stop in the race, so I knew there was one more chance to do the same thing, replicate the same, let’s say, procedure. Seb learned a little bit from the first stint – started off a little bit easier in the second stint, then broke away. Then I think again as the laps ticked down I was probably able to make the tyres last a bit better on the option and close in, but then safety car again. So, thanks to the guy on the track, appreciate it. I was tempted to swerve, clip him! That was that and then with the prime, as Seb said, that was pretty much it. It’s hard to overtake here but we tried to do what we could. We just got the fastest lap at the end, so we proved our pace all weekend. I’m proud of that. Good to get another podium. Really happy for the team. As I said yesterday they’ve done a really good job, particularly the last couple of races I think the chassis has really come alive, so thank you to them for that. So, yeah, congrats to Seb, it was a good race.

Despite a good race you had today, at the moment your team doesn’t have an engine for next year and it doesn’t look like there’s a solution tomorrow on the table. Are you worried? And then, obviously to Seb, what would you say if Red Bull would drive similar engines, the same engines as you next year?
DR: I think it’s… now I’m not worried. I think we’ve still got time. It’s not December yet, so if we’re in this position in December then, maybe I’m a bit worried. Maybe I’m facing a year of getting paid to do nothing.

You renewed your contract?
DR: Yeah! I don’t know how that would feel but for sure I want to be here, want to be racing. Obviously I’m at a bit of a peak of my career, I’m learning all the time but enjoying it and want to keep racing definitely and keep racing at the front. So, firstly it’s great to be back on the podium and fighting where I want to be fighting. For next year, in time it will get solved. Obviously the sooner the better for everyone to start working and preparing the car for next year. Obviously it depends on what engine you have: you design the car around that, the set of geometry of the engine – but yeah, we’ll see how we go in the next few weeks, hopefully we’ll get an answer.

Looking at the shorter term, as you say, the chassis has really come alive. On which of the upcoming tracks do you think you will be able to really exploit that and get a good result?
DR: I think this was our best chance, so we got close. I think we can still be proud of what we did this weekend. As I said on the podium, I think it’s good that we – in a way – capitalise or make the most of our opportunities. This year, I believe we have had two: Budapest and here and we’ve got podiums in those races. A bit like last year, when we had the chance to win we did. I still think we’re maximising everything we’ve got at the moment. Moving forward, Suzuka is normally a good track for us. I don’t think we can expect as strong a performance as here but we can still look at the top five and maybe better. Then after that, I’m not sure. Mexico is new for everyone, so we will see how that goes but I was there already and they’ve got a pretty long straight, so I’m not sure how that will play in our hands. Yeah, looking forward to the last part of the season. Austin’s pretty good so yes, see how we get on.