Daniel Ricciardo is sure he will have another chance to add to his sole victory in Baku before the end of the season, despite missing out on arguably the best chance to do so a week ago in Singapore.
After being quickest on Friday and missing out on the front row due to a storming lap from Sebastian Vettel in qualifying, different scenarios ganged up to prevent the Australian from putting up a major fight to eventual race winner Lewis Hamilton around Marina Bay.
Of the six circuits left, some may allow an ever-improving Red Bull team to get closer to the Ferrari and Mercedes at the front but none are expected to see them be as close as they were on the streets of the city-state.
However, that doesn’t mean Ricciardo is giving up on standing on the top step of the podium one more time this year, particularly as the season next visits a circuit where circumstances saw him lead a first 1-2 of the hybrid era for the Milton Keynes outfit last season.
“My victory last year in Malaysia was definitely unexpected,” he commented. “I really didn’t think our car was well suited to the track, but Lewis’ problem opened the door and then I held off Max in the closing stages to take the win. It just goes to show you never know what can happen.
“Malaysia, Japan and then we’ll see. I think we can be podium cars, probably Malaysia, Japan, Austin. We might need some alternate conditions to really give us raw pace to fight for a win.”
While rain could play a part in some races, the issue of reliability for the top two teams will also be a factor as they look to avoid taking any grid penalties which then could also offer Ricciardo and Red Bull hope if that was to be the case.
“I’m not going to sit here and say we’re not going to win one and I believe we’ll get at least one chance somewhere,” the ‘Honey Badger’ added.
