Daniel Ricciardo is targeting a repeat of the brief duel he and Max Verstappen had for third in Belgium at this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix.
The slippy Renault excelled on the long straights of Spa-Francorchamps and is expected to do so again at Monza, where Ricciardo finished fourth in 2019.
On the opening lap in Belgium, Ricciardo was able to get alongside his former Red Bull teammate on the Kemmel Straight and through the Les Combes, Malmedy section before ultimately giving way.
Mid-race traffic then gave Verstappen just enough of a cushion so the Honey Badger couldn’t attack in the closing laps, but with Ricciardo more determined than ever to claim his first podium in yellow, he knows Italy could be his best chance.
“It was fun, it was cool, [Max and I] spoke a bit after and we said ‘it was fun to be able to do that for a sequence of corners’. We would have loved to have done that for 40 laps,” he said reflecting on last Sunday’s duel.
“Hopefully there’s a bit more of that going on. I think this track [Monza] does lend itself to overtaking and side-by-side racing, for a little bit. We’ll try to make it happen again and I think we’re in a good place, so we’ll try and keep the ball rolling.”
Verstappen though seemingly brushed off any threat posed by Ricciardo, believing the Red Bull is simply too quick.
“They will certainly go fast again and I think it could still be close together in qualifying,” he said. “I’m not afraid of anyone and we’ll see how it goes.
“Things will be different in the race, as you saw at Spa,” the Dutchman added. “They just lose half a second per lap, so I don’t see a problem there very quickly.”
Also Read:
Another reason Ricciardo is keen to optimise this weekend is the very close battle for third in the Constructors’ Championship with McLaren, Racing Point, Ferrari and Renault covered by just nine points.
“If we keep having those weekends, yeah,” he said if it was possible to emerge victorious in that scrap.
“It can turn around quickly. One good weekend – I remember last year as well, one good weekend – and you’re back in the Constructors’ fight. It’s really tight at the moment but absolutely, it’s there for grabs.”
