Ricciardo fears Mercedes bigger worry than engine issue

Daniel Ricciardo says Mercedes’ pace will be a bigger threat compared to his ongoing engine issues which he says were caused by the new specification “not necessarily aligned”.

The Red Bull driver ended the second free practice session for the Canadian Grand Prix third fastest – over four-tenths of a second off of teammate and timesheet-topper Max Verstappen – but ahead of both Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.

Despite an electrical problem with his engine during FP2, which curtailed him to  just 17 laps in the afternoon session, Ricciardo is confident his Red Bull squad can resolve the issue ahead of qualifying and the race with the latest specification of Renault engine and sees Mercedes as the more pressing problem to his chances of victory in Montreal.

“[The engine issue] is not related to MGU-K, some electrical stuff going on,” Ricciardo said. “It hindered us this morning and this afternoon. Not the best day but we are okay. Max had the pace so I think there is a bit for us to learn.

“Mercedes are going to be quick tomorrow. I’d say that they are the ones to beat at the moment. So hopefully I’ll have a smooth day tomorrow and I will try to get a bit more laps and a bit more pace.

“We have the B-spec engine this weekend, the upgrade, and just configuring a few things on that; which are not necessarily aligned. We just had to go through a little bit of trial and error.”

Ricciardo came into the race weekend with a potential grid penalty overhanging him after his MGU-K unit failed during the Monaco Grand Prix, where the Australia pulled off a stunning victory despite being down on power.

Red Bull are confident the issue with the MGU-K unit has been rectified and Ricciardo will avoid any grid penalties for exceeding engine parts permitted.