Daniel Ricciardo was pleased with the end result of Qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix where he qualified seventh on Saturday, particularly in relation to the pace his Renault F1 Team had showed during free practice on Thursday.
Neither Ricciardo nor his team-mate Nico Hülkenberg were near the front of the field on Thursday but both qualified inside the top eleven, with the Australian making it through to the top ten shootout after some ‘brave changes’ to his R.S.19. ahead of Saturday’s running.
Ricciardo went on to qualify seventh but will gain one spot on the grid to sixth thanks to Pierre Gasly’s grid penalty for blocking Romain Grosjean during Qualifying, with the popular Australian pleased to be as high up on the grid as they are.
“I’m happy with the end result, especially with where we started on Thursday,” said Ricciardo. “We made some brave changes to the car even after FP3, but that worked and going that extra mile has paid off.
“The team made a strong recovery today and we can be pleased with that. We got into a good rhythm from Q1 all the way through to Q3, which is so important here as qualifying is so significant.”
Ricciardo, the defending race winner at Monaco after his triumph of 2018 with Red Bull Racing, admits he would not mind some rain on race day, but whatever the weather he insists he will be ready to fight and score some good points for the Enstone-based team.
“Some variables tomorrow could make it interesting and I wouldn’t be disappointed if I wake up to rain!” said the Australian. “But, wet or dry, I’ll be ready.”
