The podium narrowly escapes Daniil Kvyat and Red Bull

If we were expecting the fight between the two Mercedes at the first corner, it was ultimately Daniel Ricciardo who “stood out” by clipping the back of Sebastian Vettel and consequently causing a puncture for his former teammate. Nevertheless, he believes there was nothing he could do: « Regarding the incident with Sebastian, I was on the inside and he took the line. So there was nothing else I could do. »

After this initial incident, the Australian felt that a slightly different strategy could have given him a chance to fight for the podium: « It was a somewhat frustrating race. During the first stint with the softs, we weren’t very fast. With the mediums, I think we really had a good pace. But when we caught up with the Williams, I couldn’t get past them. We lost a lot of time. In hindsight, when the safety car came out, I would have preferred to switch to the mediums because I felt I was more competitive with them than with the softs. Maybe we would have had more chances to fight for the podium. »

The third step of the podium behind the untouchable Mercedes was also coveted by Daniil Kvyat. The young Russian thought he could climb onto his second podium, after Hungary, but Valtteri Bottas denied him: « The podium was within reach and we fought until the end. But during the restart after the safety car, we weren’t fast enough on the straight and the Williams attacked very hard. Bottas easily overtook me. It was really a shame not to be on the podium. I thought it was ours and maybe without the safety car, we would have had it, but that’s racing, and we have to accept it. »

The former Toro Rosso driver also takes the opportunity to send a positive message to his bosses, who might consider promoting Max Verstappen at his expense: « *I think this weekend showed that we can be champions if we find our way back. I believe in this team, I believe in us, and I believe in our future.* »

We will see in the coming weeks if his message was heard.