Daniel Ricciardo is banking on a lower downforce set-up to perform in tomorrow's race although his choice will need to be supported by a blistering start.
The Red Bull Racing driver reckons he got the most out of his car in qualifying for tomorrow's Japanese GP, ending the grid-defining session P4.
Ricciardo will benefit however from Valtteri Bottas' five-spot grid penalty which, while keeping him on the second row of the grid, should put him on the cleaner side of the track.
Upon finishing his lap, Ricciardo wasn't sure however if his efforts had been good enough for a spot among the top four or if he had clocked in before team mate Max Verstappen, which he had.
"I crossed the line but didn't know in what position I wa, but I felt the lap was all I could really get out of it.
"Again, it was really close with Max. We're obviously pushing each other in a good way.
"I'm happy to obviously inherit the third because of Bottas' penalty. Hopefully that clean side gives me that little bit more that I'm after, and I can run with the leaders at the beginning."
Red Bull Racing revealed that Ricciardo and Verstappen have different aerodynamic set-ups this weekend with the former running with less downforce than the latter.
The set-up could prove beneficial at the outset if Ricciardo manages a good start given the difficulty in overtaking in Suzuka.
"The start will dictate a lot," admitted the Aussie.
"It's pretty tricky to overtake here. I've set my car up a little bit more for the race and took some downforce off overnight.
"On the straights, it will either give me a better to chance to attack or defend so hopefully that can be a better race package for tomorrow."
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