Red Bull Racing driver Daniel Ricciardo is hoping he can repeat his feat of breaking his podium duck in Japan, at the 2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix season finale, this coming weekend.
“Yas Marina has actually been one of my favourite tracks over the years. It’s been a bit like Suzuka for me though, a track that I’ve always enjoyed and gone well on but not quite reached the podium at.
“I broke that trend in Suzuka this year so hopefully I can do the same in Abu Dhabi.”
The Australian enjoys driving at the Yas Marina Circuit, with its end of season vibe, and eerie twilight setting making it a special event.
The only beef the Red Bull driver has with the race weekend, is that the practice sessions all take part during the day but they race in the evening, which means the data they collect is not particularly representative, and so you cannot really read anything into performance.
“It’s a fun track to drive, I like the twilight thing and I guess because it’s the end of the season it’s even more enjoyable.
“We practice in the daylight but race at twilight which makes things more challenging. You generally don’t look too much into the sunlight sessions because in the evenings, when it counts, the track cools down and the car changes so much.
“I wouldn’t say they are wasted sessions but you do have to take them with a pinch of salt.”
Ricciardo is hoping to end the season on a high with a win in Abu Dhabi, and feels they should definitely have the car to do that.
“When you have so much time away from the car in the off-season it helps to sign off with a strong result as it makes you feel like you really deserve a break.
“I think we should have a strong car in Abu Dhabi. I said I want another win before the season is out and I think we have a decent chance of achieving that.”
