Ricciardo ‘still optimistic for points’ from P13 in Spain

Daniel Ricciardo still thinks points are a decent possibility despite qualifying a disappointing 13th for the Spanish Grand Prix.

After finishing fourth in second practice on Friday, Saturday was a bit of a let down for the Australian and Renault as they slumped to the lower half of the midfield order.

In Ricciardo’s case, he was simply one of those drivers caught out by how close the order was, with only 0.032s but two drivers between himself and Lando Norris in P10 in Q2.

“It was a shame that it was so close out there and we only have 13th place to show for it,” he commented.

“When you miss out by such a little margin, it’s a shame as it could be the difference between four spots on the grid.

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“It was a clean lap in Q2, but other teams were able to find a little bit more. We have to find a way tomorrow and we’ll be pushing as best as we can.

“It will be hard for overtaking, but we’ll try,” Ricciardo added.

“It’s going to be hot, the tyres are going to have a workout and there could be some opportunities on strategy for the race. I’m still optimistic for points.”

As for teammate Esteban Ocon, his day began by crashing into the wall late in Practice 3 as he took evasive action against a slowing Kevin Magnussen on the exit of Turn 3.

Renault though was able to fix the damage but it was to little avail as he finished P15.

“On a positive note, the mechanics were incredible,” Ocon said. “After the unfortunate incident in FP3, the car was badly damaged and, in under two hours, they managed to put it back together. It was a fantastic effort so a big thanks to all of them.

“Unfortunately, the negative is that we didn’t have the pace to get into Q3 today. It’s something we need to keep looking at as we know the importance of reaching the top ten.

“Last week we were fourteenth on the grid and scored points, so I’ll give it my best tomorrow to do the same.”