F1 News: Daniel Ricciardo On Points Finish In Mexico GP - "The Weekend I Dreamed Of"
Daniel Ricciardo said Formula 1's Mexico Grand Prix was the weekend he dreamed of after scoring his first points this season since he joined AlphaTauri before the summer break.
Ricciardo secured P4 in the Grand Prix qualifying at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit behind two Ferraris and obviously, Max Verstappen. In the main race, the Australian driver finished seventh after his return and thus scored six points.
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Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Ricciardo felt relieved in Mexico after a challenging run in Austin. He said:
"After last week this is the weekend I dreamed of.
"I feel good, better than good. Relieved as well, because two starts... you hold your breath because it's such a long run to Turn 1 and anything can happen."
The 34-year-old F1 driver was doing quite well in the top five in the opening stages of the Grand Prix but a red flag for Kevin Magnussen's crash offered rival cars to go in for a new set of tires - an option Ricciardo no longer had.
Thus, he had to settle behind Lando Norris and George Russell. However, he was rather happy to have raced a Mercedes despite being unable to finish in the top five. He said:
"It's honestly the red flag that hurt us, but I don't want to say it too selfishly because there was a big accident.
"Obviously, it bunched everyone up and allowed some cars to use a medium, which we didn't have. But to still come out with seventh and six points, we have to be very happy.
"We got very close to George at the end. I think big picture, just to be battling the Mercedes at the end makes me more happy than [I'm sad at] missing out on sixth."
Ricciardo also added that he had enough time to get comfortable with his car's setup during the weekend in Mexico, as opposed to the weekend in Austin which got hectic because of the Sprint race. He concluded:
"I'm not surprised we had a good weekend because I was just ready for it.
"The direction we went with the set-up, I knew that would allow me to just have a bit more confidence with the car."
For AlphaTauri, Ricciardo's points finish helped lift the team from the bottom of the Constructors' Championship as it now rests in eighth at sixteen points, the same as Alfa Romeo in ninth position.
