A terrific performance by Daniel Ricciardo in qualifying for the Miami Sprint on Friday was backed up by a battling performance on Saturday that saw him cross the line in fourth place in the 19-lap race itself.
After struggling over the opening races of the season, the Visa Cash App RB driver was already looking much more like his old self in China and backed that up with a hugely improved showing this weekend.
Ricciardo started today's race from the second row and immediately got the better of Sergio Perez, beating the Red Bull into the first corner to pick up third place.
Inevitably Perez was soon able to recover the position, leaving Ricciardo under threat of losing places to Carlos Sainz and Oscar Piastri running close behind him.
But sticking close enough to the back of the Red Bull gave him access to DRS that helped him repel the attacks. Even when he lost that assistance he was able to prevent Sainz from forcing his way past in the closing laps.
In the end it came down to a good old fashioned race to the line out of the final corner between the RB and the Ferrari, and it was Ricciardo who just edged it to pick up his first points of the season.
“It’s a happy feeling, it’s a powerful feeling, also to back up yesterday," Ricciardo told the media in the paddock at Miami International Autodrome after the end of the race.
“Qualifying was obviously great, but to back it up over the course of a Sprint race, that’s even more satisfying," he continued. "It feels very good and nice to also keep a few people quiet!
"I figured I’d try my best to keep them behind," he said, referring to Sainz and Piastri. "If the tyres go, then they go. But every lap I could defend, for me that was like a pat on the back.”
The intensity of the effort together with the heat of southern Florida has clearly taken its toll on the Aussie. “I’ve literally just stopped sweating. I’m still sweating a little bit, but I couldn’t breathe the whole race.
Ricciardo's fortunes appeared to have revived when he was given a replacement chassis for Shanghai, after he and his engineers had been unable to trace any specific reason for his early season slump. It seems to have paid off.
"I immediately honestly felt something [with the new chassis]," he insisted. "I felt more feeling and a bit more confidence in what the car was going to give me.
“It’s not that it was far off," he continued. "There was just something missing compared to Yuki at the start of the year. I could just feel like I wasn’t able to do what he was able to do in a lot of the corners.
“I knew there was something there, so I think there really was something with the chassis," he said. "Maybe the team still doesn’t think so, but I do. Then we had a floor upgrade here and I think that’s helped us in the high-speed.”
Whether it's the new chassis or the floor upgrade, Ricciardo is now back ahead of team mate Yuki Tsunoda in terms of race performance and results.
But today RB pulled off a double points finish for the first time, with Tsunoda handed P8 which came with a valuable addition to the team's haul of championship points after Lewis Hamilton was given a post-race penalty for speeding on pit lane.
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