Ricciardo on P4: 'Very proud of what I did today'

Daniel Ricciardo and Visa Cash App RB were not expected to start on the second row of the grid for Saturday's sprint race at the Miami Grand Prix. However, a fantastic session from the Australian meant that he set the fourth fastest time of the session, qualifying ahead of Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari after finding fantastic pace at the Miami International Autodrome.

Ricciardo 'did not expect' a second-row start

'The Honey Badger' has struggled to find his form at the beginning of the 2024 season, scoring zero points in the first six races of the season. But thanks to some new updates to his VCARB, the 34-year-old from Perth launched himself up the timing sheets around the track of Miami, giving himself a great opportunity to earn his first points of the season.

"I know I've been able to do it before, so I know it's in me, but, did I expect to do a second-row start? Probably not that good," said a beaming Ricciardo when talking to Sky Sports. "I felt really good in SQ2, and I knew that lap would be good enough for SQ3. I think at that point we were P5, and in my head, I was like, ‘P5 would be really nice for SQ3.’ And then we got P4, and it was wild, because both the laps were good, but it's hard to be really clean around here."

"It's just a tricky track," continued the Australian. "That little middle sector jumping across the chicane, it's hard to get it right. So both laps, I hit the wall on the exit of 16. It actually felt pretty big, but yes, I kissed the wall, so I was definitely pushing. I don't know if that helped my lap time, but it was really good. And obviously, I'm very proud of what I did today. But also the team has been bringing updates in the last few races. Obviously, I had the chassis change last race in China, and we had a new floor here, so things definitely look like it's turning around."

On whether Ricciardo thinks that a podium is on offer during tomorrow's sprint race, he answered with this: "Certainly. I mean, it's okay. Win. I could dream of everything, I think it's just so nice starting towards the front, even from the point of view, just kind of being out of that mid-pack, that bit of chaos. So, hopefully, you kind of go with the leaders at the beginning, and then obviously it's a short race, so hopefully I get through enough of it with them in the first few laps and end up with a good bag of points."