Red Bull appears calm after free practice

Red Bull could hardly have done better in the streets of Monaco. At the end of the day of free practice, the Anglo-Austrian team achieved the two best times thanks to Daniel Ricciardo, which also established a new lap record (in 1'11''841) Thursday afternoon.

The Australian achieved this performance using hyper soft tires (pink sidewalls), a compound introduced for the first time this weekend by Pirelli. “With these tires I was able to get an ounce of extra grip and it's great to be able to improve the track record.

The lap went by so quickly, but I think on Saturday we will go even faster for qualifying. The Tabac corner and turn 12 are particularly impressive », rejoices the wearer of number 3.

All the snaps from free practice in Monaco Full gallery https://t.co/Z5OeOu5SQj #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/oODBwPEH9H

- Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) 24th May 2018

Galvanized by this pace, Daniel Ricciardo now only aims for one thing: “victory, if possible by dominating”. The significant gap opened up on the Ferrari and Mercedes (more than half a second in Free Practice 2) does not go to the head of the smiling driver. “It's a good start, but with a day off (Friday), they will put pressure on us, I'm sure. »

His teammate Max Verstappen, also well in sight (second in EL2), is confident for the rest of the events. " There car was easy to drive, there weren't many adjustment problems, it's pleasant, especially on a city circuit", explains the Dutchman.

“The engine speed modes of other teams (alluding to Mercedes’ Party mode) will make the difference on Saturday but I think we can be serious challengers for victory. As soon as the straights are short, we are present, the pace is good. »