Daniel Ricciardo quipped that the Monza podium “looks so good” as he aims to work his way forward from the rear of the grid at this weekend's Italian Grand Prix, while conceding that another penalty is likely in 2018.
Ricciardo is set to start from towards the back of the pack with Red Bull poised to run Renault’s C-Spec engine, an update that the manufacturer believes will gain three-tenths of a second per lap.
It marks the third time in four years that Ricciardo has taken an engine penalty at Monza, with Red Bull electing to take the hit ahead of venues more conducive to its package.
“I don’t know if I’ll start 19th or 20th, I think [Nico] Hulkenberg has some penalties from last week,” said Ricciardo.
“Last row… I still want a podium here. The podium looks so good here! I’m hoping for some crazy race that gets me on the podium.
“I’ll try [the updated engine] on Friday then we’ll make a decision what to expect with it. I always try not to expect too much, I think it’s natural over the last few years.
“I expect to see something but whether it’s one-tenth, two-tenths, three-tenths, we’ll see. But if there’s an improvement that’s better than not.
“I do expect an improvement from it but I couldn’t tell you in terms of lap time from it. A few tenths would be nice.”
Ricciardo added that he is braced for another demotion at an upcoming Grand Prix before the end of the season.
“It’s likely I’ll have another one at some point,” he said.
“If we could get from Singapore through without any penalties I think that would be above target for now. So it’s likely I’ll have another one at some point.”
