Daniel Ricciardo will line-up sixth on the grid for the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday with the Australian admitting that he has yet to find a rhythm to his weekend around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
The Aston Martin Red Bull Racing driver has been playing catch up after some issues during practice on Friday, but even with that he felt he should have qualified higher up the grid than he did if had found the kind of rhythm needed to be quick at the circuit.
“I think my weekend has lacked a little bit of rhythm and we’ve been one step behind due to some of the issues on Friday,” said Ricciardo. “In Qualifying, we actually made really good progress and I feel like we should be better than sixth with the way we performed.
“It’s all very close; disappointing to be at the tail end of that top pack but actually I don’t think we could have done more.”
Ricciardo admitted that it was decided early to start the race using the Hypersoft Pirelli tyre opposed to the Ultrasoft that both Scuderia Ferrari and both Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport drivers will start on, and it should enable him and team-mate Max Verstappen to be aggressive in the opening laps and with the strategy.
“Even though Max was quickest in each practice session, I think we still knew getting pole here would be tricky and for that reason we thought it would be better to start tomorrow on the Hypersoft,” said Ricciardo.
“We knew we would probably have a couple of cars to pass and it gives us a chance off the start and on the first lap with a bit more grip, afterwards we will have to manage them.
“This strategy sets us up to be aggressive and attack. The first few laps will dictate a lot of the race but I think we still have a chance of a podium and it should hopefully make some good TV as well.”