Ricciardo: Our aim now is to challenge Aston Martin

Daniel Ricciardo performed with great confidence on the podium in Canada, showing the 5th fastest time in qualifying and taking 8th place in the race. In Barcelona, ​​the Australian Visa RB rider emphasized that he hopes to remain at least at this level, especially as the team has brought new technical innovations to Spain.

Daniel Ricciardo: “Good results always boost your confidence, even if the driving experience was about the same before. But in Canada everything went well from the beginning of the weekend, from the very first training, and it is clear that this continued for the rest of the days.

I haven’t had a weekend like this for a long time, so it’s nice that it all started well and ended well. The team is very efficient in modernizing the car, so we are moving forward step by step. Hopefully I can improve my consistency in the coming weekends.

The result shown in Canada pleased not only me, but also all those people who know that I can perform at this level. For me personally, it was very important to achieve such a result – I just needed it.

Together with the team, we expect that the new products prepared for the podium in Spain will also help us improve, but the question is: how will we look compared to our rivals? This remains to be seen. Barcelona is a circuit where all teams try to bring modernized cars, although I don’t know yet if everyone here has brought new products. But earlier, when the European part of the season started at this stage, all teams made every effort to prepare new products specifically for the Spanish Grand Prix. I know we’ll go a little faster, but everything is relative, right?

Our car was fast on almost all circuits, which allowed the team to earn points, and of course we will try to continue this. Now our goal is to challenge Aston Martin. In Canada they beat us in the race because they were a little faster than us on Sunday, but it is clear that we are already much closer to them than we expected at the beginning of the year.

This is exactly the mood we are in. Our team is in 6th place in the Constructors’ Championship, but that does not mean we will stay there at all. Of course we understand that the opponents are strong, but Aston Martin is the team we want to compete with more often and we feel we are getting close.

Let’s see how the technical innovations perform, and whether they work effectively, then we will try to compete with Aston Martin in the next few phases.”

Daniel also had to answer a question about his future prospects in Formula 1.

“Of course the result shown in Canada, as I said, was very important to me,” said the Australian. “It is clear that I would like to stay in Formula 1, and as I am now back in the Red Bull family, I don’t see any other options for myself. But I am willing to repeat that I want to earn the right to stay in the championship because I know I am capable of showing results at the level of last week’s. And if I succeed, I will be happy to stay.”