Daniel Ricciardo is looking forward to tomorrow where “the fun really begins” as he starts at the back of the grid for the Russian Grand Prix.
The Australian has been pretty happy with his Aston Martin Red Bull Racing but is unsure where they would have been in Q3 if they didn’t have their penalties.
“Knowing you’re taking planned penalties before the weekend makes it easier to accept that you won’t complete qualifying and then you can just focus on the race,” said Ricciardo.
“Obviously, we are never going to know where we would have been in Q3 but we’re pretty happy with the car this weekend and we’ve performed well on a circuit that we aren’t normally that strong on.”
There are a number of cars out of position this weekend and Ricciardo is hoping to have some fun.
“There is a lot to do tomorrow and that’s when the fun really begins for us,” said the Australian. “There are a few of us out of position at the back of the grid, so let’s see who can fight to the front quickest and have some fun doing it.
“I actually hope the tyre degradation is high, like we have seen so far this weekend, that way nobody will be cruising on an easy one-stop strategy and hopefully we can provide some real entertainment.
“The main thing for now is to decide which tyre to start the race on. I think the temperatures are going to be higher tomorrow as well and the long run down to Turn 2 will be interesting.”
It has already been a good weekend for the Australian with Ricciardo’s team, the West Coast Eagles winning the AFL Grand Final and he is hoping he can make the weekend even better on Sunday.
“If I’m honest, the main excitement today was my AFL team winning,” said Ricciardo. “I got up early to watch the game and it was well worth it, my voice is definitely suffering after all the shouting though.
“I will put it all on the line tomorrow and try to return the favour.”
