Daniel Ricciardo was delighted as he felt he maximised his result at the Belgian Grand Prix after finishing second to Nico Rosberg on Sunday.
The Red Bull Racing driver knew a podium place was possible at the Spa-Francorchamps, and with Lewis Hamilton at the back of the grid due to numerous engine changes, Ricciardo was targeting second place.
“I’m pleased with that result, I knew a podium was on today,” said Ricciardo. “Of course you can never guarantee, but I knew if we had the pace that we did on Friday, that we would be able to get there.
“With Lewis starting at the back it was an opportunity to get at least a second place, and we got that. A win is always the big target, but Nico had the pace that we expected, so second is the best we could have done.”
Ricciardo admitted the red flag period to repair the barriers at Raidillon following Kevin Magnussen’s crash was beneficial to the Red Bull team as they were able to repair the damage to his front wing, which was caused by running over debris from the turn one incident involving his team-mate Max Verstappen and the two Ferrari drivers.
“There was a lot going on at the start and I actually hit some of the debris which damaged the front wing, so the red flag helped us as we were able to repair it,” said Ricciardo. “Before that the car was quite affected.
“Then, after that we got going; there wasn’t too much action for me, but I was just trying to be consistent and the outcome was good!”
