Fourth a "little victory" as Ricciardo fights back through the field
17:13, 07 Oct 2018
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Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo has acknowledged that his P4-finish in Japan felt like a little victory for him, as the Aussie had to come all the way back from P15 to get it, earning himself the Driver of the Day award in the process.
After his engine malfunctioned in Saturday's qualifying, things looked to be at an all-time low for the 29-year-old, who let out a scream of anger after climbing out of his RB14 knowing that he'd start in P15.
During the race, though, things went more smoothly for him, as he got away quickly and started overtaking the midfield left right and centre.
“Surprisingly, I was able to come through the field and overtake quite easily,” the Aussie was quoted by The Checkered Flag.
“That’s not because I thought I couldn’t personally overtake, it’s just not that easy on this track, but I was able to make good use of the downforce we had on the soft tyre.
“I knew we would be quite vulnerable on the straights as we ran very high downforce this weekend, but I could stay close enough in the corners that I could latch onto the tow of the cars ahead on the straights.
“It was a good set-up and the first part of the race was a lot of fun.”
Despite the fact that Ricciardo has missed out on a podium ever since his win at Monaco earlier this season, he was happy to finish where he did in the end.
“I would have loved a podium and I was kind of hoping for something to happen up front, but I feel I earned at least a fourth today.
"It was good to come through the field and on the grid Helmut actually said that he thought fourth place was a little optimistic and possibly out of reach today.
"So, fourth is like a little victory from the back on this track and it was good to see our strong pace against Ferrari.
“A podium would have been even sweeter but I can’t complain with the result and I’m pleased for the team.”
The result keeps Ricciardo behind his teammate Max Verstappen in the standings, as he still trails him 27 points as he sits in sixth.
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