Horner hails Ricciardo's "incredible" front row grid spot
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has labelled Daniel Ricciardo’s qualifying performance for the Chinese Grand Prix as “incredible”.
Ricciardo was half a second off poleman Nico Rosberg, but scored Red Bull's first front-row start since Singapore last year by outpacing both Ferraris.
"Were on earth did that come from? I'm quite shocked actually," said Horner. "To qualifying on the front row here is quite an incredible performance.
"He just got quicker and quicker, and just put everything together. The wind picked up at the last part of qualifying there, and he just nailed it.
"Rosberg's picked a different tyre strategy, but we're in the race from there. We know we're vulnerable, but we've got to see the start lights for the first time in a while front the front row – and we'll be giving it everything."
Ricciardo himself admitted he did not know where the time had come from.
"Not sure! Second is pretty awesome, we didn't expect this," he said.
"I think today is encouraging. If we can have this on one lap we should be pretty good.
"Hopefully we have got a race with Ferrari. If we can battle with podium that will be awesome.
"I got a front row here a couple of years ago but that was in wet, so to get a front row in dry condition is awesome and testament to how far we have come since the end of 2015.
"It feels good to be back up here. I know only qualifying, and I am really happy."
Share Or Save This Story
Mika Hakkinen on his darkest day in F1
Dillon: Spotter was “wrong” to shout “wreck him!” before Hamlin clash
Hamlin: NASCAR stripping Dillon of win would be “warranted”
Daniel Ricciardo shares heartfelt message after first Indy 500 visit brought back "childhood feelings"
Lando Norris reunites with Daniel Ricciardo for Indy 500 celebrations after disastrous Canadian GP
Daniel Ricciardo says life feels "more real" after abrupt F1 exit
Red Bull is overcoming ADUO restrictions but still calls on tweaks for F1 2027
Charles Leclerc: Ferrari must learn from Red Bull to improve F1 race strategy
How the Bahrain GP in Malaysia exposed Red Bull’s hidden resurgence
Supercars Bathurst 1000: Late parity changes overshadow practice
MotoGP riders divided on contentious 2027 weekend format change
Williams Racing is suing a local garage owner for £1million
Mercedes is considering a step backwards ahead of the Singapore GP
No denying it now – the one reason why F1’s ‘horrible’ start in Malaysia could be a good thing
The greatest F1 campaigns with no wins
Three kings: F1's generational stars shone at Sepang
How F1 let a golden opportunity slip at Sepang
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments