Ricciardo could have fought for Saudi Arabia F1 podium without final restart
Daniel Ricciardo says he could have fought for the podium at the Saudi Arabian grand prix without the final restart.
Daniel Ricciardo says he could have fought for the podium in Saudi Arabia with less restarts. (McLaren)
The McLaren driver said he was happy to finish the race, let alone in fifth position.
"That felt like the longest race ever."
"The race start was so late, so it already felt like a long day, and then with all the restarts it felt even longer."
"The starts were good, I always made up positions until the last one where I stayed fourth."
Ricciardo enjoyed an early fight for the final podium position while rivals Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen clashed at the front of the grand prix.
Esteban Ocon was pipped at the finish line by Valtteri Bottas, who took third place by mere metres.
Daniel Ricciardo at the restart of the Saudi Arabian grand prix. (McLaren)
The Australian said it was a battle he could have been a part of, without the need for a tyre change at the final restart.
"I used the hard tyre for the race start, so we couldn’t really use it for the restart and were forced to go on the medium, and I think the hard was the better tyre."
"So, I couldn’t quite get Esteban, and I tried to hold off Valtteri as long as I could."
"I was surprised how long I held him off, but I think once he let his tyres reset, it was quite hard to keep him behind. I defended him one lap, re-passed him and then he got me."
"Potentially I could have challenged Esteban at least a little more with the hard, but in any case happy to get a top five and definitely it’s nice moving forward, so no complaints."
