Daniel Ricciardo expressed that he exited the Austrian Grand Prix paddock “feeling proud” as a points finish leaves him sensing he’s building momentum in Formula 1.
Ricciardo entered the previous weekend under pressure to deliver amid rumours that Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson could be in line to replace him next season.
However, Ricciardo responded with an impressive showing at the Red Bull Ring to overturn a 0.010s margin to a Q3 appearance into a coveted ninth-place race result.
The Australian, who had admitted he was in the dark over RB’s race prospects, capitalised on Max Verstappen and Lando Norris’ late clash to double his points return.
Ricciardo was delighted that he was able to come home with quicker rivals still in his mirrors as he commended RB’s strategic choices to gain him vital track position.
“I don’t remember all the race. I need to probably watch it again to rate how happy I am, but I’m definitely more happy than sad,” Ricciardo recalled.
“Obviously Haas outscored us, but we weren’t quick enough. I think also the Alpine was quicker, so to hang on… I think the team helped.
“We had the two Hard tyres, we could pit a little bit earlier and capitalise on track position.
“So they pitted me at the right time and then I just had to watch the mirrors and try not to f*** up, basically.”
Ricciardo has now outraced his RB team-mate Yuki Tsunoda over the past three weekends and believes that his campaign is gathering impetus amid a sluggish start.
“I feel like that’s three weeks in a row now where I’ve got most out of it,” he added.
“Still searching for a bit more perfection but yeah, three on the bounce.
“At least I can I say I swiped out of the paddock three weekends in a row now on a Sunday, feeling proud. Just got to keep that up.”
The reports that Ricciardo’s drive is in danger came from Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko claiming that the Austrian brand’s shareholders desire to field a young name.
But Ricciardo, who has been adamant that the comments haven’t impacted his approach, is hoping his uptick in form can convince Marko that his best level remains.
“I’ve known obviously Helmut such a long time, and at the end of the day he doesn’t care about personality,” he explained
“He goes about is the stopwatch and the classification. He’s a racer, and that’s all he really wants to see from us.
“That can make him not think great about me to all of a sudden think great about me. I think this weekend’s helped.
“As I said, it’s a little bit more consistent now, so just keep it going and hopefully by the summer break he’s laying on a beach somewhere saying ‘Ricciardo, he’s still got it’.”
