Thursday: At Red Bull, Ricciardo and Vettel fast but on the lookout
The Red Bull boys prepared as much as possible for the first day of testing in Monaco. They hope to disrupt Mercedes' dominance.
Sebastian Vettel (No. 1) – 5th and 3rd
The World Champion hopes not to be too far from the Mercedes: « We are potentially a little bit closer here but you know, it’s still a bit of guessing for now. The big advantage on this track is that there aren’t many straights, but we still have to wait to know. »
He fears that the Star-branded team might be hiding their game: « The Mercedes were very fast this morning and usually, when Saturday comes, they increase their pace so we will try to do the same. »
Daniel Ricciardo (No. 3) – 3rd and 9th
Disappointed not to have learned much due to the residual wet patches on the track at the end of FP2, the young Australian gives a positive assessment of his first day: « I think it went well this morning, so we just need to try to get the setup based on that. The few laps I was able to do this afternoon were similar to those in the morning in terms of the car’s balance and the things we need to work on, so I think the direction we need to go is quite clear. »
He hopes to have the opportunity to take on the Silver Arrows: « If we need to trouble the ‘Mercs’ then I think this is the place to do it, for now they don’t seem to have a sector where they demolish everyone, but it’s obviously still a bit early. »
