Shoe fits podium finish
RICCIARDO CELEBRATES IN STYLE
DANIEL Ricciardo scored his second consecutive trip to the podium with a thrilling third place in the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.
The Duncraig racer celebrated with his now traditional ‘shoey’, drinking the champagne from his size 9 Puma and sharing the skoll of the bubbly with podium compere Sir Patrick Stewart.
The 70-lap race was led from start to finish by Britain’s Lewis Hamilton, with Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas second and Ricciardo third in his Red Bull Renault.
Max Verstappen catapulted his Red Bull into second place at the start after clipping Sebastien Vettel’s Ferrari, but an electrical problem sidelined him after just 11 laps.
Vettel’s car had some wing damage and he lost time with an early pit stop, resulting in an intriguing battle for third place in the closing stages.
The Force Indias of Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon were hot on Ricciardo’s tail with Vettel, running on a fresh set of ultra-soft tyres, closing in on the trio.
The Perth driver was able to ease away as the Force India duo and Vettel argued over position.
Five laps from the finish Ocon and Vettel both tried to pass Perez into a corner, only to make light contact and drop back.
Vettel then managed to squeeze past both Force Indias to claim fourth.
Ricciardo said he could not afford any mistakes with his opponents ready to pounce.
“I had to be close to perfect but it wasn’t easy as the grip was low and the wind was crazy out there,” he said.
“Not the easiest third place but when I saw the chequered flag I was like ‘yes I can finally breathe’.
“I had zero intention of doing a shoey again, but the crowd was chanting and then Sir Patrick (Stewart) got involved so I thought ‘alright, we might be on here’. I think it turned out pretty good.”
Team principal Christian Horner was delighted with Ricciardo’s performance.
“An excellent podium for Daniel today,” he said.
“He really didn’t make any mistakes, despite huge pressures from Force Indias and Ferrari behind. We banked track position early on with the soft tyre with the intention of going to the end of the race and that worked out well.”
Actor Sir Patrick Stewart on the podium with Daniel Ricciardo taking part in a ‘shoey’.