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Daniel Ricciardo believes that Red Bull can now fight fair and square with Ferrari after showcasing its pace at the Australian Grand Prix. Ricciardo was involved in a battle with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen for the final step on the podium towards the end of the race.
Ricciardo's weekend took a frustrating turn on Friday evening when he was handed a three-place grid drop for the race. The Australian lined up in eighth place at the start of the Grand Prix and managed to get past Nico Hulkenberg for P7 on lap 5.
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With teammate Max Verstappen spinning at Turn 1 and both Haas cars retiring, Ricciardo found himself in fourth place and fighting for a podium finish. Despite missing out, the 28-year-old was pleased with the pace Red Bull showed.
"I think we’re pretty close with Ferrari and our race pace is strong, which I thought would be the case, so we just need to get a few more tenths out of qualifying and then we should be looking good. Being so close to the podium and getting fastest lap is definitely an encouraging way to start the season.
"I’m happy with the way I drove today and we had a very fast race car. It’s not often I sit behind someone for most of the race but it’s a tight track and one of the more tricky ones for passing. There were a couple of times I had a look at turn three but Kimi was wise to that and could see what I was planning. Towards the end I applied more pressure on him but he was able to up the pace as well."
Fergal Walsh
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
C. Sainz jr
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