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Formula 1 Singapore GP
Red Bull can target "dominant weekend" - Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo believes Red Bull can realistically target a “dominant weekend” at the Singapore Grand Prix after sweeping Friday practice.
Valentin Khorounzhiy
Edited: Sep 15, 2017, 3:27 PM
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Distinctly third-best behind Mercedes and Ferrari for most of the 2017 Formula 1 season, Red Bull has been widely tipped for a Singapore resurgence, with the Marina Bay Street Circuit favouring strength in chassis over power unit.
And the first day of track action at the venue has duly gone according to plan for the Austrian team, with Ricciardo narrowly topping FP1 and then heading a dominant Red Bull 1-2 in FP2.
At the conclusion of the running, Ricciardo insisted he was not surprised by Red Bull's early-weekend form – and reckoned the team had every chance to maintain an advantage.
"I expected this, to be honest," Ricciardo said. "I knew we'd come here with a good car, I feel prepared, so I'm not surprised with our performance today.
"It's important that we obviously keep that tomorrow but I have a lot of faith we can stay there all weekend."
He added: "A dominant weekend is what I'm after. I know the challenge tomorrow will potentially be stronger from Ferrari and Mercedes, but I'm confident we can stay there."
So assured was the Aussie of Red Bull's Singapore chances that he was underwhelmed to only top FP1 by a tenth over the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel.
"P1, even though we were quickest I was still expecting more - so P2 was more like it," Ricciardo said, having gone seven tenths faster than the best non-Red Bull in the afternoon.
"We improved it from the morning. Even though I was quickest, I knew we could go better with the set-up.
"We got it, another step, I think we can get another half a step out of it, that's what I'm looking for."
More laptime to come from Verstappen
Teammate Max Verstappen, who ended the day in second but was more than half a second adrift of Ricciardo, was likewise in good spirits.
"The car was working pretty well - of course, can always be better in terms of balance, but if we compare it to our competitors, we looked very strong.
"We didn't expect to be this competitive, but it all looks very good. Of course we know in Q3 that Mercedes and also Ferrari, they have a little bit more to come, so we have to be cautious."
Explaining his deficit to Ricciardo, the Dutchman said: "We all know that Daniel is always very quick here. But my fast lap, I had to abort because [Romain] Grosjean spun, so yellow flag, couldn't use the DRS so makes no sense to continue.
"So there's still some laptime to come, also fine-tuning the engine because in terms of top speed today, compared to the other car, we were not looking great."
Additional reporting by Edd Straw and Erwin Jaeggi
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