Daniel Ricciardo arrives at Spa Francorchamps in Belgium this weekend on the back of his confidence-boosting first podium finish of the season last time out in Hungary, and is also buoyed by the fact he won this race in 2014.
The Infiniti Red Bull Racing driver admitted that he has had a life-long adoration for the Belgian circuit, and is looking forward to racing there for a fifth time in his Formula 1 career.
“When I was a kid I played the racing games quite a bit and Spa was always the track I played,” revealed Ricciardo. “It was my favourite – and when I got to drive there for real, every bit was as good as I thought it would be.
“My first race was in Formula Renault 2.0 and I can still picture the first lap, thinking ‘wow’ as I went through Eau Rouge.”
Ricciardo was victorious in Belgium twelve months ago, and reflected on his win, insisting it was a difficult afternoon in the Ardennes with Red Bull running with a low-downforce set-up.
“To win the grand prix last year was really, really cool,” said Ricciardo. “It was pretty tough to drive. We ran really low downforce, pretty much Monza-spec. It made it tricky: tail-y but fun.
“Trying to keep up the rhythm when the car is moving around is not always easy – but I think it was the best package we had for the weekend.”
