Daniel Ricciardo feels he has ‘done half the job’ but knows he and Aston Martin Red Bull Racing need to finish it off on Sunday after securing pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix.
The Australian set a record breaking lap of 1:10.810s around the Circuit de Monaco to secure his second pole position of his career and was naturally delighted with the result.
“I’m pretty delighted, but I will be even more delighted if I’m on the top step tomorrow,” said Ricciardo. “I’m trying to keep things pretty chilled now but I’ve done everything I need to do up until this point, so I’m pleased with that and everything the team have done.
“At the moment I feel like I have done half the job I came here to do, so we will try and finish it tomorrow and I’ve made life easier by putting myself on pole. I just kept building up and putting the laps together and then in Q3 it was very important to maximise everything at the right time and I was able to do that.”
Ricciardo has topped every practice session this weekend and believes he has shown they were right to be branded favourites for this weekend.
“I had confidence in the car which started on Thursday and then it was about finding the rhythm, which is very important around here,” said the Australian. “I knew the car would be strong and it’s great to get the best out of it.
“Everyone came into the weekend saying that we were favourites and I thought they were trying to take some pressure off themselves but I thought, let’s prove them right!”
Ricciardo’s team-mate Max Verstappen crashed in third practice meaning he starts at the back and Ricciardo believes that shows what Monaco can do.
“It’s one extreme to the other for the team today, with Max not making the session, but that’s Monaco and it pushes you,” he said.
The Australian started from pole in 2016 and lost out to Lewis Hamilton in the race but thinks they are in a good position to make up for that.
“Finding the balance even with a good car, still isn’t easy,” said Ricciardo. “I think if we are smart and do the race we know we can do tomorrow, then we are in with a good chance for the win.”
