Ricciardo in top form after fifth straight podium

Daniel Ricciardo has found the “sweet spot” in a Red Bull car that is showing increasing signs of challenging Ferrari and Mercedes for pace.

Ricciardo secured a fifth consecutive podium finish with third place at the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday. It followed an impressive win in Azerbaijan two weeks ago and further cemented his grip on fourth spot in the Formula One driver standings.

With his trademark grin and eccentric podium routine, the 28year-old Australian is the most jovial driver in F1. When on the podium, Ricciardo’s traditional routine is to take off his shoe, fill it with champagne, and hand it to one of the other drivers to take a sip before gulping the rest of it down.

Cold champagne mixed with shoe sweat is an acquired taste. It seems to agree with Ricciardo, however, and there could be a few more podium brews with 11 races left this season.

“I’m getting more comfortable with the car. Things are moving forward and I can see a little bit of a sweet spot,” Ricciardo said. “I feel we have good momentum. Five in a row is awesome. You get the taste of a few podiums and you want a few more.”

Red Bull, which won four straight drivers’ and constructors’ titles during Sebastian Vettel’s dominant spell from 2010-13, had concerns about whether it could keep up with Ferrari and Mercedes. But it seems the gap in race speed is not as big as they feared.