Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsRed Bull Racing

Ricciardo aiming for Monaco podium

Daniel Ricciardo believes the Monaco Grand Prix will provide himself and Red Bull with their best shot at a podium finish this season.

Red Bull's dismal start to its 2015 campaign on the back of its chronic Renault engine woes has left the Aussie driver with just a handful of points, with two sixth place finishes, in Australia and in Bahrain, as his best results.

Evidently, the man who won three races with Red Bull last season isn't exactly where he thought he would be this year, but with the return to Europe and the prospect of a series of upgrades set to benefit Red Bull, Ricciardo's optimism remains on track.

"I think the European season is where a big team like us can gain momentum and really get some progress," Daniel said in a team podcast ahead of Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix. "It was definitely our best weekend (in Bahrain) - it was only a sixth place to show for it, and a pretty sick engine across the finish line, but as a whole it was better."

Although upbeat, Ricciardo won't be setting the bar to high next weekend in Barcelona, but the 25-year-old does believe a podium finish could be in the cards when F1 moves to the Principality.

"I think Barcelona will be decent for us, and I think Monaco will be our best shot at really having a crack inside the top five and maybe even a podium."

In the interim, let's hope the former World Champions have put the three-week break between Bahrain and Barcelona to good use and allowed Red Bull and Renault to improve the performance and reliability of the French manufacturer's power unit, as team boss Christian Horner expressed during Red Bull's podcast.

"All our reliability issues have been powertrain-related and that's where the main focus of effort is going at the moment," Horner said. "We want to try and make a good step forward over the coming races and try and put Williams, and maybe even Ferrari, under a bit of pressure."

Click here for a look at the radical Honda power unit design

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.