Daniel Ricciardo blamed his car’s lack of top speed for a disappointing qualifying at the Japanese GP.
The Australian was left sixth of the top three teams, behind teammate Max Verstappen and the two Ferrari’s, who enjoyed their best Saturday in quite some time.
While the pace of the Red Bull was as quick as the Mercedes through the twisting first sector, the straights before and after Spoon curve were seeing the Renault-powered RB12’s slip back.
“To be honest, I did what I could,” Ricciardo told Sky Sports. “We had a few issues in qualifying, it’s a bit frustrating. Frustrating to see how close it is, but, yeah, I was trying.
“I was just a little bit slower in the straights. It may have been there from last weekend. It’s okay, just a little frustrating. Obviously, you give away free lap time, it’s hard to take as a driver – but it is what it is.”
Indeed the speed trap data showed Ricciardo 10kph down on the Mercedes through 130R, with only the Toro Rosso’s and McLaren’s travelling slower.
The Red Bull’s will gain one place, as a result of Sebastian Vettel’s penalty, but the Malaysian GP winner admitted his team were aiming for at least the top four on the grid.
Ricciardo does expect a closer race, however, and believes he, Verstappen and the two Ferrari’s can keep Mercedes very honest indeed.
“Obviously I’m still looking ahead to the race with good optimism,” he said. “I don’t think they’ll be dominant tomorrow, even if they still come home with 1-2, I don’t think they’ll be streaks ahead.
“We’ll try to put some pressure on them, do what we can. Ferrari was quick today, so I think it’s going to be a pretty good battle with all three of us.”
His team boss Christian Horner echoed his driver’s sentiments, pointing to the engine modes Ferrari and Mercedes have at their disposal.
“We know the others have got a qualifying mode, they don’t have that all the race.”
He described his team’s qualifying as ‘pretty respectable’ before adding: “Hopefully we can be stronger in the race tomorrow.”
