Satisfaction at Red Bull in Malaysia
Daniel Ricciardo had stated before the qualifying that Red Bull was going to close the gap to Mercedes. In fact, the two cars finished 4th and 5th.
After the exchange of pleasantries between Christian Horner and Cyril Abiteboul during the Friday morning conference, the Red Bull team got back to work during qualifying. Both drivers managed to navigate the Q2 downpour and were thus assured a top 10 position, which had not been the case during the opening round.
Daniel Ricciardo is the one who did the best, finishing 4th: « We have always done well in the rain here and there are still things we can improve, but 4th is a good result for the team. The second row is a good place to start and we can hope for some battles tomorrow. »
Nevertheless, he is aware that his car is not yet at the level of Mercedes or Ferrari: « We are behind Mercedes and Ferrari but we are ahead of Williams. The conditions were tricky. So it’s a good thing. Step by step, we are improving and heading in the right direction. »
As for Daniil Kvyat, he acknowledges that he set off on his last lap a bit too early and that there was room for improvement: « I think we went out a bit too early on our lap. It could have been better going out later, but it is always difficult to know in these kinds of conditions. »
Under these conditions, managing to maintain their respective positions at the end of the race would be a good performance for the Milton Keynes team.
