Ricciardo, the nice surprise of this start to the Floridian weekend

After a very complicated start to the season, Daniel Ricciardo finally seems to have the smile that characterizes him so much. Already in China, the Australian had shown great things by dominating his teammate, Yuki tsunoda, and being in the fight for points. The weekend had finally ended badly for him; DNF after being the victim of a failed braking Lance stroll to the relaunch of the Safety Car.

Under the palm trees of Florida, Honey Badger decided to continue his momentum and achieved another very good performance by taking 4th time in the Sprint qualifications... a place that actually surprised him a little.

“I was talking to Max (Verstappen) earlier and he said that he was quite surprised to be P1 with his lap, and I told him that with mine that I was also surprised to be 4th, explains Daniel Ricciardo. The second line is awesome. I hit the wall twice! I told the team I was trying to get the best, I don't know if it made me faster or not, but we tried and I felt good in the car. »

 

See this post on Instagram

 

A publication shared by FORMULA 1® (@f1)

A new chassis for a new life

As a reminder, at the start of the Chinese Grand Prix, the Australian asked his team to change its chassis. A choice that paid off because he said he felt much more comfortable with this new piece at the end of the day on Saturday: « We changed the chassis and I feel the car better, I have more confidence in it. » 

Having still not scored any points this season, Daniel Ricciardo could well open his account from the Sprint race. In any case, this is the objective he sets for himself.

“We'll see what happens, but starting from the front, I experienced that in Mexico last season (4th in qualifying, 7th at the finish, Editor's note), is much nicer than being 12th or 13th, he emphasizes. I say that because, obviously, in the first round, it's a bit of chaos. Going ahead where it's a little cleaner is like a breath of fresh air. I'm sure the second row will help us score points. »

Ricciardo therefore holds in his hands his best chance of scoring points since the start of the season. Stroll still needs to not ruin his race at the first turn...

ALSO READ >The starting grid for the Miami Grand Prix Sprint race