Ricciardo explains performance: 'I built that up slowly'

Daniel Ricciardo hasn't had a particularly good season at McLaren so far. While Lando Norris has often battled for podiums behind Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, the Australian has had to settle for a place firmly in the midfield.

During the Belgian Grand Prix however it was a different story. The Australian managed to qualify fourth, which gave his team some points after the cancelled race.

Ricciardo looks back on his qualifying with satisfaction, which he explained to Formel1.de. "I built that up slowly. In Q1 I was a bit off the pace and in Q2 I was doing better. Then of course Q3 was another step up. So I wouldn't say I maximised everything, but it was definitely a step in the right direction."

According to the Australian, it was good that he had a holiday to unwind, allowing him to perform again during the next few weeks. "During the forced shutdown you are forced to forget about the sport for a while, take a step back and look at it from a different perspective. It was just nice to step back and then come to Spa with a new approach."