Canada will be a revelation for Ricciardo

Returned to the forefront in Spain with historic victory Max Verstappen, then in Monaco with a failure difficult to digest for Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing now poses as a new rival to Mercedes, alongside a Team Ferrari which remains below its initial expectations for the 2016 campaign.

If the Barcelona and Monaco events had given rise to surprise scenarios, Ricciardo expects that the Canadian round on the Gilles Villeneuve track will play the role of revealing whether or not it can get into the fight for the title.

“We didn't expect to be third in the championship at the start of the season, recalled the Australian yesterday at a press conference ... We didn't score any points in Russia and could have gotten more in China if it weren't for the puncture, and in the last two races we were very close... Probably we would be very close to the top places in the championship right now.

I would like to be in a position in a few races and say yes, we can challenge for a title this year. It would be quite unexpected and a great story for the F1. I think this race will be quite revealing.

If we can be competitive here, you never know. There are still a lot of races left of course, but if we can be competitive then I believe in myself to fight and do what I need to do to put myself in a good position for the end of the year. »

If the Australian had been the only one to benefit from the engine developments brought by Renault in the Principality, he and his teammate Max Verstappen will benefit from the same specifications for the Canadian Grand Prix, the first free practices of which will begin this afternoon. Enough to provide increased competition against Mercedes?