Daniel Ricciardo's hopes of achieving a top 5 placing in qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix were fulfilled, with the Australian enjoying a satisfying performance which bodes well for tomorrow's race.
"It was definitely one of the better qualies this year for sure," Ricciardo said.
"I said coming into the weekend that if we could qualify in the top 5 then I think we can race well from there. We haven't been in the top 5 too many times this year, but when we have we've had pretty good weekends.
Ricciardo underlined his RB11's progress during the session, with cooling track temperatures as the sun set over Yas Marina clearly enabling the Australian to extract more from his car. A fact which bodes well for tomorrow's race although he'll still have to contend with Force India's speed and presence, and perhaps a pinch of Williams to deal with as well.
"On every run I felt we found something, and as the sun came down it came to us a bit more as well. It's good for the race that it goes a bit later into the evening, so if that is a sign of our speed then hopefully that is good for us.
"Between Force India, us and Williams it is going to be quite close. Whoever gets track position off the start will be the favorite for that battle.
"Ferrari will be a bit more tricky. If we can clear the Force India at the start, I would have a bit more confidence to try hanging with Ferrari. But if we lose too much ground at the beginning behind a Force India it will be hard to recover and catch a Ferrari."
Asked about tyre management, Ricciardo believes it may reveal itself to be a key race factor, especially in the first segment which will be run on the supersoft Pirelli compound.
"It will decide a lot tomorrow," he confirmed. "Last year as well we had good pace in the race, and we were also able to push our tires quite hard.
"Like always, if you can manage – the first stint on the super soft is going to be pretty difficult. After five or six laps it is going to get quite tricky, so if you can squeeze a bit more life out of them in the first stint, then maybe that will allow you to push harder on the prime in next part of the race."
REPORT: Rosberg continues qualifying run with Abu Dhabi pole
AS IT HAPPENED: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Qualifying
Between the lines at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
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