Daniel Ricciardo has dedicated his Malaysian Grand Prix victory to his late friend Jules Bianchi, having waited two years to do so.
The Red Bull driver took the win after race leader Lewis Hamilton retired with a power unit failure. He looked visibly emotional on the podium after missing out on two victory opportunities earlier in the year at Spain – which was won by team-mate Max Verstappen – and Monaco.
"I want to dedicate this one to Jules, as well," Ricciardo said. "I've been waiting for a victory and waiting to dedicate this to him.
"My life definitely changed after that incident. I'm extremely grateful and appreciative of everything that I've got. I'll dedicate this to him."
Earlier this week, Ricciardo said he believed karma would hand him a victory after he missed out in Monaco when his team didn't have tyres waiting for him during his stop, which gave Hamilton the win.
He reckons he's become a better driver after that episode and, whilst not mentioning karma, he alluded to it when asked about the victory.
"After Monaco in particular was obviously mixed emotions. It was a hard one to take. I felt we've come through that, as a team we've learnt a lot. As a person, it made me a bit stronger. I think I've only got better since then.
"Obviously Lewis got the lead and got his problem. I'm not really one for believing in a whole lot, but obviously it went the other way in Monaco. I'll take this today, no hard feelings to Lewis, but I'll definitely take the win."
