Daniel Ricciardo says Red Bull is closing in on Mercedes at almost every race after challenging for pole position at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen was just 0.149s slower than Nico Rosberg in qualifying, with Ricciardo nearly half a second adrift in fifth place. The performance comes at a circuit where Ricciardo won in 2014 but still places an emphasis on power unit performance, and the Australian believes high temperatures and Red Bull's improvements led to the close fight.
"I’m not sure on the explanation, I think the last few races we’ve seen a trend where we are getting more and more competitive," Ricciardo said.
""The only thing I can think of is Singapore last year with the really hot track conditions. It was Mercedes’ weakest race of the year, sure they’ve been quick at other hot places, but maybe with the heat they’re not getting the most out of their tyres this weekend, that’s all I can think of.
"Obviously we are making improvements which is why we are closer, so that’s positive."
"The downforce we started with [on Friday] we didn’t touch, so I think we were pretty happy with the compromise we made, I think the hot track conditions made it tricky to get a good set up this weekend.
"I think we were always confident that the downforce we were running was the good one, just to get a car that you’re happy with, especially the supersoft with such a hot track condition here didn’t feel that great with the car sliding quite a lot and the tyres overheating quite quickly.
"So I think probably not everyone was happy with the balance they had but that’s more the nature of the tyres and the heat as opposed to the downforce we’re running. With the downforce I think we had a good compromise, we seem pretty quick in the straight, quick enough, and obviously our second sector is competitive."
QUALIFYING REPORT: Rosberg edges Verstappen and Raikkonen for pole
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Chris Medland's 2016 Belgian Grand Prix preview
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