Ricciardo hopes Karma gives him Monaco GP win back

The Australian had looked on course to triumph at Monte Carlo but a botched pitstop by his Red Bull team allowed Lewis Hamilton to grab the lead and take the win.

Red Bull's pace has improved since then and the team is heading to the next phase of the championship upbeat about the potential of its chassis on downforce-demanding tracks like Singapore and Suzuka.

When asked by Motorsport.com if he believed he had a race win in him before the end of the year, Ricciardo said: "I think so. I don't believe in much, but if there is a little bit of Karma or whatever, I'd like to think I will get my Monaco win back somewhere.

"Singapore is a track which I will look to. I don't expect to be handed a victory, absolutely not, but I feel if I work very well across that weekend then it should provide me with a chance. So Singapore is the one I am looking at."

Good balance

Although Red Bull has pushed hard on the aerodynamic front this year, Ricciardo believes tweaks made to the car have not just been about adding speed.

Instead, he thinks just as much progress has come from making the car work in a wider operating window.

"We do have little bits and pieces nearly at every race, which come and they make small differences," he said.

"What some of these updates bring, if it is a little small wing on the front wing, like a little Gurney or something like that, even if it doesn't give you speed, doesn't give you any laptime, sometimes these things help make the set-up of the car easier.

"It expands the window and it is easier to then be comfortable with the car. Even if it doesn't give you more downforce or something, it can maybe make the opportunity greater to get the right set-up and be happier: and then you will find a bit of speed. I think that is what it is. Which is nice.

"On Fridays we are not doing that much work any more in terms of normally what car we are bringing. We change a few things but we are not reinventing the wheel.

"When you start reinventing the wheel, and we found ourselves in that position last year, it is very hard to get lucky and find a set-up that works for the rest of the weekend."