Daniel Ricciardo sure Bulls can usurp Ferrari again
Monday 13 June 2016 12:11, UK
Red Bull are confident they can still fight Mercedes and Ferrari for victory in the Canadian GP despite modest results in Friday practice.
While Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheets from Sebastian Vettel, a result which offered encouragement to both the Scuderia and the Silver Arrows, Red Bull duo Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen were relegated to just fourth and fifth - only fractionally ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Jenson Button, who set identical times in their Williams and McLaren cars.
Canadian GP Practice Two: Hamilton completes Friday double
But Ricciardo, who arguably should have won in both Monaco and Spain, believes Red Bull still have plenty of extra pace to deliver over the weekend.
"We know what today is for - we are learning - and if we put in the right work tonight, we will be pretty close with Ferrari tomorrow. With the right lap, we can be ahead of them," Ricciardo told Sky Sports F1.
The former world champions tested a new nose on their cars on Friday in Montreal and Ricciardo is hopeful that, even if the RB12's single-lap speed isn't a match for the W06 on Saturday, Red Bull can give Hamilton and Nico Rosberg a fight on race day.
"I don't think we quite got everything out of it today, but that's Friday. Mercedes had a good buffer on us today, but I feel we have got a bit more to come from all areas tomorrow. If we're within, say, half a second tomorrow, that would be decent enough, and then you never know what happens in the race.
"My happiness with the car today, I think we're looking OK."
When is the Canadian GP on Sky Sports F1?
Team-mate Max Verstappen, meanwhile, enjoyed a trouble-free day - especially welcome after the youngster crashed three times in as many track days in Monaco.
"It was pretty easy [to get back on track after the frustrations of Monaco]," he told Sky F1.
"Also in go-karting, you have those same things. Now it happens in Formula 1, a bit more people are watching, but it doesn't really matter. You need to have a strong character to start over again because there are a lot of weekends to go. I was enjoying it today. I like the track and the car was behaving quite well, so it's always more enjoyable."
