Red Bull
Daniel Ricciardo
“I’m really pleased with a podium today, I don’t think we could have got a win. We tried at the start; we had a good run off the line and at the apex the Mercs were in my blind spot, so I thought I was in the lead, but on the exit I was done by Lewis (Hamilton) and then Nico (Rosberg) got me round the outside of Turn Two. I think even if we had got the lead, their pace was good so they could have even over-cut us if they stayed out an extra lap. Third was the best we could do and Seb (Vettel) got really close in the last three laps; my tyres were getting towards the end, so coming over the line in third was good. Three podiums in a row here is great, it’s a good place for me. I feel really good. Fridays and Saturdays have been really good for us from the start of the season but the last few Sundays, for whatever reason, I haven’t been that satisfied with, so it was important to put it together from Friday to Sunday this weekend and I believe I did that. And now we’ve got another in seven days, so that’s another chance to be happy again!”
Max Verstappen
“The pace was there for a podium today. I felt like I had a good start and got close to Lewis into Turn One but then ran out of track and couldn’t brake late. After the first stop it was very frustrating to be behind a Ferrari at the start on the fresher tyres. It was a shame because at the beginning we were quick and I tried to create a gap to the Ferraris which lead to me having to back off as I got too close to the car in front. This meant when I pitted I got out behind them both and that was pretty much my race done. Being behind meant I destroyed my tyres trying to find a pass so the opportunities went away as the race went on. Regarding my battle with Kimi I was simply protecting my position. I drove hard and just made sure I didn’t lock up or make a mistake.”
Christian Horner, Team Principal
“After a promising start. It was impossible to cover Sebastian (Vettel) with both cars, so we covered with the lead car which was Daniel, therefore unfortunately Max dropped behind after the first round of stops and thereafter both drivers entered into battles with the respective Ferrari drivers, Daniel versus Seb and Max versus Kimi (Raikkonen). There was some great racing between the four of them, some robust defending from our guys particularly Max, who was firm but fair holding off Kimi. It was great to see Daniel finishing on the podium again, and to close the gap on Ferrari to within one point at the halfway point of the year.”
