Red Bull's performance on Thursday was a good first step in Daniel Ricciardo's hopes of achieving dominance in Monaco, but the team's gap with its rivals will "tighten up" in qualifying says the Aussie.
Ricciardo and team mate Max Verstappen conclude their day of free practice over half a second clear of the opposition, confirming the expected efficiency of Red Bull's RB14 chassis around the twisty streets of Monte Carlo.
While the performance bodes well for Sunday, Ricciardo is still expecting a tough battle Saturday's crucial qualifying session.
"It is going to tighten up on Saturday but all we can do today is try and top it and we did," Ricciardo told the media after practice.
"It’s a good start, both cars are strong. Our long run looked decent. It is not everything around here, but we seem to be good in all conditions at the moment.
"[Pole position] is the target. The intention this weekend was to try and win - and be dominant. Today is good. It is a good start," he added.
"We topped the sessions, so for now we have done all we can. We can find a bit more but we are more or less there and Saturday afternoon is going to be very close.
"We have a day off and I am sure Ferrari and Mercedes will start to put pressure on us."
Fellow bull Max Verstappen is equally convinced of the team's ability to put one over its rivals Saturday afternoon.
"Yeah [pole] definitely the target after today. For sure they will come close in qualifying because of the engine modes but I’m sure we can still do better so pretty good."
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