Daniel Ricciardo is excited to return to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this weekend and will be looking to make amends for the drama that occurred during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix two weeks ago.
The Aston Martin Red Bull Racing driver collided with team-mate Max Verstappen at the Baku Street Circuit but returns to the scene of his first podium finish of 2017 and the first of his career back in 2014, with the Australian admitting the race in Spain gives him the feeling of the start of the summer.
Red Bull will be amongst the teams bringing significant updates this weekend and even though the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is the venue for pre-season testing, it is far from a boring circuit, and it is an enjoyable one to go back to each year.
“Barcelona is always an exciting time of the year, it’s the start of the European season, the time where you see lots of car development and in a way the start of summer which I love,” said Ricciardo.
“The Barcelona circuit is fun, we’ve done a lot of laps around there and we know it very well, nonetheless it’s certainly not boring and we always enjoy going back. The race is kind of a staple in the F1 calendar now.
“The track has a bit of everything, Turns 1, 2 and 3 are nice flowing corners and the last section is very technical.”
After his third place finish in 2017, Ricciardo is aiming to do the same or better this year, and is looking to the kind of form that took him to his stunning victory in the Chinese Grand Prix earlier this season.
“Last year I got my first podium of the season there which was cool, so we will try and go for the same or better this year,” said the Australian.