Ricciardo reveals red flag saved podium after wing damage
Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo has revealed that his second-place finish in the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa owed much to him being able to repair his front wing during the red flag for Kevin Magnussen's accident.
Although he wasn't directly involved in the first-corner clash between the Ferraris and his teammate Max Verstappen, Ricciardo picked up damage to his front wing from the debris.
"The start was a bit of a mess in front, so it was important to stay smart and keep out of trouble," he said.
"We picked up some damage actually from all the debris from the Ferraris and Max, the front wing was damaged. Up until the red flag I was struggling.
"I asked the team if they could see anything as I was driving by, because I felt the car wasn't driving normal. But the red flag allowed us to repair that.
"From that point, I tried to put some pressure on Nico [Rosberg, race victor] but he was a bit too fast. So it was all about keeping Lewis behind, and we did that.
"I felt that was the best we can do today, happy – very pleased."
No chance to beat Rosberg
When asked if he could've done anything different on tyre strategy to take the fight to winner Rosberg, he added: "Nico went medium-medium, and we didn't have two mediums available so we had no choice other than to go soft-medium.
"After the restart, on the medium I was able to stay with Nico for a few laps, but as the medium continues the soft starts to drop away.
"We were consistent on the medium on the last stint, not as quick as Nico but quick enough to manage to gap to Lewis."
Share Or Save This Story
Mika Hakkinen on his darkest day in F1
Dillon: Spotter was “wrong” to shout “wreck him!” before Hamlin clash
Hamlin: NASCAR stripping Dillon of win would be “warranted”
Daniel Ricciardo shares heartfelt message after first Indy 500 visit brought back "childhood feelings"
Lando Norris reunites with Daniel Ricciardo for Indy 500 celebrations after disastrous Canadian GP
Daniel Ricciardo says life feels "more real" after abrupt F1 exit
Red Bull is overcoming ADUO restrictions but still calls on tweaks for F1 2027
Charles Leclerc: Ferrari must learn from Red Bull to improve F1 race strategy
How the Bahrain GP in Malaysia exposed Red Bull’s hidden resurgence
Aprilia boss: Beating Marc Marquez in MotoGP title fight “the most difficult task we could have”
Marc Marquez believes MotoGP riders will eventually unite, as they do in Formula 1
Massimo Rivola responds to 850cc MotoGP speed concerns: 'What's done is done'
Valtteri Bottas completes three-day jungle ride to Singapore GP: "Your mind starts to play games at night"
No denying it now – the one reason why F1’s ‘horrible’ start in Malaysia could be a good thing
The greatest F1 campaigns with no wins
Three kings: F1's generational stars shone at Sepang
How F1 let a golden opportunity slip at Sepang
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments