Daniel Ricciardo is happy with fourth on the grid for the Malaysia Grand Prix, but will be praying for rain in order to be in the fight for victory.
In his usually jovial mood, the 28-year old was also quick to joke he gave team-mate Max Verstappen third place on the grid by half a tenth of a second by slightly lifting off at the line as it was the Dutchman’s 20th birthday.
“I did all I could today and I think we both got the most out of the car. said Ricciardo. “We’re half a second from Lewis around here so I think we can be pretty happy with that. It gives us a chance in the race tomorrow even if it’s dry.
“I would have loved to be on third today, but that half a tenth was actually Max’s birthday gift from me and I wanted to start on fourth really, because that’s where I started last year and I won. This is obviously all planned in my mind. I did a bit of a lift of the throttle just before the finish line, so yeah it’s of course all calculated.”
After showing strong pace in the first practice session on Friday which was delayed 30 minutes due to the sodden conditions, Ricciardo also joked he could join Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel for a rain dance as both drivers could take advantage of the wet weather.
Ricciardo added: “I think Seb is probably going to do a rain dance tonight so I might join him, hold hands and light some candles. But honestly, some rain would be interesting for the race, so we can dance tonight, as long as we don’t dance tomorrow. If he gets near me then, we haven’t had a good enough race.”
