Daniel Ricciardo gives Red Bull another podium finish

Starting from fifth, Max Verstappen made the most convincing start this Sunday by bringing his Red Bull up to second place after the first corner. However, his maneuver was not without difficulty, clipping the end of Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari wing in the process.

« The start was really good, right away, I had no wheelspin and I was able to deliver all the power and gain positions. I had a small contact with Seb [Vettel] in the first corner, I went wide, that can sometimes happen. » the Dutchman specifies.

But unfortunately, his race didn’t go very far, with Verstappen having to retire after only a few laps: « The way the race ended for me was very frustrating after such a good start. I think a podium was possible, but once again, we come back with nothing. I suddenly lost all power and everything stopped. I’ve had a lot of disappointment recently, I guess that’s racing, but sometimes you get a bit fed up. »

A sentiment shared by Christian Horner: « It’s really unfortunate for us to lose Max after 11 laps. He made an incredible start that propelled him to second place at the second corner, then after a bold overtaking move to take the lead at the restart, he looked competitive for second place when a battery failure caused an instant retirement. Very tough for Max, but I’m sure his time will come soon. » says the sporting director of the Austrian team.

However, the race was not over for Red Bull as Daniel Ricciardo was still in contention for a podium. The Australian delivered a solid race, under pressure from Force India and Ferrari, to ultimately secure an unexpected third place: “It was difficult today. When we put on the Soft tires, I thought it was a good thing to do to make it to the end. Pérez was catching up to me more and more, and then there were a few laps where I could pull away a bit. He seemed to be struggling, but maybe he was just catching his breath and preparing a second attack. I couldn’t afford to make mistakes, especially in the final sector, because if the Force Indias had DRS, it would have been difficult to keep them behind. I had to be close to perfection and not make any errors, but it wasn’t easy because the grip was low and the wind was crazy out there. Not the easiest third place, but when I saw the checkered flag, I said to myself: ‘yes, I can finally breathe.'” concluded the Australian.