Ricciardo: 'Mercedes strong but can they hold it?'

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Daniel Ricciardo believes today's race could prove to be a more difficult proposition for Mercedes compared to its performance in qualifying.

Hamilton delivered a scintillating lap yesterday afternoon but Ricciardo, who qualified P6 just behind team mate Max Verstappen, notes that Red Bull was hot on the heels of both Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen.

"For sure Lewis likes this track, he has had a lot of success here, so when it is a track that you enjoy you can extract another tenth. That was a good lap," admitted the Aussie.

"They are strong, but I am not convinced that they hold that in the race. The power I am sure they have to turn down a little bit, and also on tires they don't seem to be as comfortable as their advantage last year.

Verstappen makes the most of qualy with P5

"We will see. I don't think they will have it that easy against Ferrari, and we will be closer to them than on one lap."

On Mercedes' ability to dial in the power when it's required, Ricciardo wished he enjoyed that luxury although the prospect was a scary one.

"As expected, they turned up the performance in the last qualifying segment. We just can't do that.

"I think that extra power would even be scary for us, going down the straights and then we might brake really early because the speed is so high. But it would be a good problem to have."

The Honey Badger is still hopeful of seeing an engine upgrade in Baku, but in the interim all focus is on developing the RB13 chassis.

"We are used to this position, so it is nothing new. We are still trying to do what we can with the chassis.

"We have brought quite a lot to the car this week and it is working, but it is still hard to quantify when we are down in Q3 like that.

"We will see in the race," he added.

"I feel like we have a pretty good race car in terms of balanced, and it is quite kind on the rear tires, so the way we set the car up, hopefully it is like maybe a two stop and maybe we can use a one stop or do something there."

For those interested in stats, Daniel Ricciardo started P6 Canada in 2014 and went on to win the race. Today, he also starts P6...

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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.