Ricciardo on Singapore GP: 'About time I won the damn thing'

Daniel Ricciardo hopes Red Bull will be strong enough to challenge Formula 1 rivals Ferrari and Mercedes for victory at this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix.

Red Bull heads to Singapore with hopes of scoring its best result since Max Verstappen claimed victory at the Austrian Grand Prix, with the Marina Bay Street Circuit’s characteristics expected to play to the strengths of its RB14.

Daniel Ricciardo won at the last race to be held at a street circuit in May’s Monaco Grand Prix, but has failed to make the podium since, with a run of torrid reliability plaguing the middle part of his season.

The Australian is aiming to end his victory drought at a circuit he has enjoyed success at, having claimed four previous rostrum appearances, including a third consecutive second-place finish last year.

“As everyone knows, I love street circuits. The feeling of driving on the edge, so close to the walls, is something you just can’t get enough of,” Ricciardo said.

“It’s the original night race and the schedule is always pretty hectic but there is something kind of romantic about going to the track at night and then to bed at four or five in the morning.

“It’s a place where I also have good races and finish pretty strong. I’ve had four podiums and three second places in a row there, so it’s about time I win the damn thing.”

Red Bull debuted Renault’s upgraded ‘Spec C’ engine at the Italian Grand Prix after Ricciardo was hit by his latest power unit grid drop at Monza.

The Renault-bound driver was encouraged by the French manufacturer’s gains and said it could be worth around two tenths of a second around Singapore’s streets “at a guess”.

Ricciardo beat Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel to the second pole position of his career during a dominant weekend in Monaco but is not convinced Red Bull will be in such a strong position at Singapore.

When asked if he felt Renault’s estimated power unit gains would be enough to enable Red Bull to challenge for pole, Ricciardo replied: “Difficult. The two Ferraris have improved since Monaco. We have improved but not as much as them.

“Monaco we had a little bit of room on them, but Singapore [is] probably not as strong as Monaco for us. And then with that I’d probably say Ferrari was a favourite going into Singapore, but we will see. Hopefully it is close enough.”