Sunday: Ricciardo on the podium, Vettel aggressive with Red Bull
Practically perfect Grand Prix for Red Bull, managing to place both its drivers behind the untouchable Mercedes: while Daniel Ricciardo had a solitary race after getting past Bottas, Sebastian Vettel's race was aggressive as he climbed the 11 places separating him from 4th position.
Daniel Ricciardo (No. 3) – 3rd
For the Australian, even though the race was mostly solitary, he is pleased with the overall result: « The race wasn’t incredibly exciting […] but for us, it’s a good result. We knew we couldn’t catch the Mercedes, but we thought we had a better pace than the guys behind, so before the race, we said that being 3rd was a good thing. It’s nice to be back on the podium, actually I feel a bit embarrassed up there, but I’m sure I’ll be more comfortable. »
Ricciardo continued: « It seems that at the moment, it’s the Mercedes cars that are battling each other and doing a wonderful job. With Seb moving up the field to finish 4th, it seems we are the second-best team this weekend. I think it will vary a bit, but maybe there will be a battle for the last spot on the podium between Seb and me in Monaco, we will see. »
Sebastian Vettel (No. 1) – 4th
Started 15th and finished 4th, the German drove an offensive race despite a rather tricky start: « Overall, I think it was the best we could do today: the start wasn’t very good, and I lost a place, but then I was able to come back at the end of the lap; it’s always tricky when you’re behind. It was a very active first lap. I was a bit stuck in the pack, so I couldn’t be aware of where we would go today and our speed, but once we came back, I was on hard tires and was able to catch up with the others. I think we realized that the pace was there, and after that, we put on two sets of new tires, so we could go further! I really enjoyed it. »
He doesn’t forget to salute his teammate and Mercedes: « Daniel had a good race today […] Mercedes is very solid, they have a phenomenal engine, two very good drivers, a very good car, and a very good team, they are doing a good job so it would be wrong to complain and grumble about their domination: they have worked better than anyone during the winter and deserve to be there. »