Daniel Ricciardo equalled his best-ever qualifying result in Formula 1 today at the Chinese Grand Prix with second place, but he could not catch pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton as he gave everything he could in the wet conditions.
The Australian driver lined up in second place at the first race of the season in Melbourne, but he was disqualified after finishing second on track due to a fuel irregularity. After scoring his first points for Red Bull in Bahrain, Ricciardo is looking to secure his first podium finish in Formula 1 this weekend in China, but his first pole was just out of reach on Saturday.
“I couldn’t have got anything extra out of the car on that last lap, I got everything I could out of it,” Ricciardo explained. “For that I’m pleased and I got rewarded with a front row place for tomorrow.
“It took a while to get going in the session today, I didn’t have the comfort or pace that I was aiming for, but I got it at the end. I feel like I’m ready to get a good result, I know it’s never going to be easy but I’m prepared for the fight tomorrow and I’ll embrace it.”
The rain-affected qualifying session on Saturday did appear to give Red Bull more of a chance of denying Mercedes a fourth straight pole position, but ultimately Hamilton had the edge on his rivals. Ricciardo even had one more run than the Briton, yet it was not enough as he finished six-tenths of a second behind the pole-sitter.
By finishing second, Ricciardo outqualified illustrious teammate Sebastian Vettel for the third time in four races. Despite some concerns about his suitability for Red Bull after finishing no higher than seventh in two seasons with Toro Rosso, the young Australian has already settled in and proven himself at the champion team.
“I couldn’t have settled into the team any better to be honest,” he said. “They made me feel at home very quickly and it’s helping me. I’m really enjoying the driving and it seems to be showing with the results.”
