Ricciardo: A pretty quiet evening

Daniel Ricciardo’s fourth top-ten result in five races may have come in an eventful Abu Dhabi GP but for the Toro Rosso driver it was anything but…

Daniel Ricciardo’s fourth top-ten result in five races may have come in an eventful Abu Dhabi GP but for the Toro Rosso driver it was anything but.

Racing from 16th to tenth last Sunday evening, the most notable incident for the Australian came behind the Safety Car when Sebastian Vettel had to leave the track to avoid hitting running into him.

Other than that, it was an uneventful evening with Ricciardo taking advantage of his rivals’ mistakes as he slowly but surely worked his way up the order, making just one passing move.

“While it seems like the most eventful race of the year, I’ve got to admit not much of the action happened to me,” he wrote in his Toro Rosso blog.

“I had a pretty quiet evening, all things considered. Mostly I was watching what was going on and picking up places as other people fell off.

“It’s not the sort of race I’d have chosen – I’d much rather have been in the thick of it but sometimes you’re banging wheels and others you’re all on your own.

“We stayed out there to the end and were durable enough to score. I was really happy to get 10th: the team did a really good job to get me there.

“The only pass I made was on JEV. I got a good run and caught him with the DRS.

“I managed to get my nose alongside, he knew I had fresher tyres and more grip at that point of the race, so he fought his corner hard but eventually I think he decided to not hold me up.”