Tag: Dominic Rust

The United States Grand Prix dealt Red Bull a weekend of mixed fortunes.

Daniel Ricciardo finished in third but his team-mate Max Verstappen had to retire due to gearbox failure:

“It was a very unfortunate way to end the race, especially as the first part was so positive. I pitted and then realised they hadn’t actually made the call, luckily it didn’t affect the end result.

“Shortly after I had come back on track I heard a banging noise coming from the engine so I pulled the clutch, they then asked me to release it again and keep going so they could try and work out what it was, unfortunately we couldn’t solve it and it ended my race, “said Verstappen.

Ricciardo continued his good form this season as he finished on the podium for the seventh occasion he said:

“I think we were looking good for P2 but then the Virtual Safety Car didn’t work in our favour today. I’m not going to be too disappointed, it’s just cool to be on the podium here.

“It’s another big bag of points and we at least had Nico’s pace so that’s encouraging and we’ll try and do what we can in the next few days.”

Team Principal Christian Horner is delighted with the form of his team ahead of the Mexican GP:

“Taking away a podium finish and extending our lead over Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship to 53 points are positives.”

Dominic Rust

At the United States Grand Prix three years ago, the Red Bull Racing pit crew had conceivably its finest hour, completing a pit stop on Mark Webber’s car in a World Record time of 1.923s. It beat their own record of 2.05s, set earlier in the season and was, of course, the first ever pitstop to break the two seconds barrier.

Red Bull have exceeded expectations this year and with Max Verstappen under their wing they have surely have a future Formula One World Champion. Daniel Ricciardo also has shown he has the mettle to compete with Mercedes.

Last year at the American Grand Prix, the ever smiling Australian qualified in third before dropping down to tenth:

“It has a lot of unique features like the wide apex at turn one; you could fit about four cars side by side through there. There are loads of opportunities to overtake and have fun throughout the whole track. It has fast flowing sections and hairpins, pretty much everything I like in a track.”

Ricciardo led last year’s race at the same venue until Rosberg and Hamilton overtook the Red Bull driver due to the greater straight line speed.

Daniil Kyvat who was with Red Bull until he was demoted to Toro Rosso started the race in fourth position.

Max Verstappen should be looking forward to Austin as he produced a brilliant drive to finish fourth in 2015 behind Sebastian Vettel for Toro Rosso:

“The COTA track is very special, it’s a new track but with a lot of old school corners in it (but with more run off) which makes it really cool to drive.”

The Milton Keynes team should be in for a good weekend and extend their lead over Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship.

Dominic Rust

Red Bull pair Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo finished in second and sixth place respectively in the Japanese Grand Prix.

The man from Holland is showing the world that he has the talent to win the Drivers’ Championship in a few years as he defied the more powerful Mercedes to end the race in Suzuka on the podium for the second time in successive weeks.

Although Mercedes made a complaint against the 18-year-old as they believed he drove ‘dangerously’ to thwart Lewis Hamilton’s chances of finishing behind Nico Rosberg. Subsequently the complaint was later withdrawn after it was learnt that they decision would not be cleared up before the American Grand Prix.

“Lewis (Hamilton) was obviously a bit quicker in the final stages and I knew he was going to catch me, the gap time on the pit board was dropping every lap. Into the last chicane I saw him coming in my mirrors so I defended my position, said Verstappen.

Christian Horner defended his young protégé after his manoeuvres hampered Mercedes chances of locking out the first two positions on the podium:

“A fantastic drive by Max today. A very mature performance, moving into second place and then really looking after his tyres resisting pressure initially from Sebastian and then at the end of the race from Lewis, with some great racing. It was fantastic to see him split the Mercedes and achieve our eighth 2nd place of the year.”

Daniel Ricciardo didn’t have the best of performance however he still finished the race in a commendable position and the Australian is looking ahead to Austin, he said:

“Today wasn’t a very exciting race for me, and unfortunately it just wasn’t my day. We struggled in the traffic and fell behind the eight ball. In the final stint towards the end I had a clear track and I was able put in some good laps but it wasn’t enough. We’ll come back in Austin ready to have a good weekend on track.”

Dominic Rust

Red Bull must keep up their outstanding season as they make to Suzuka home of the Japanese Grand Prix.

Last time out Daniel Ricciardo won in Malaysia and Max Verstappen finished second just ahead of Nico Rosberg.

The Milton Keynes team have struggled in Japan in recent visits to Asia but this year with their strong form they should be confident ahead of this race:

“It’s a culmination of a great amount of teamwork both trackside and from everyone else back in the factory. It’s fantastic for Red Bull and for all of our partners.

Our thanks also to all of the hard work that’s been put in by the people at Viry in delivering a great package for our TAG Heuer branded engine,” said Red Bull principal Christian Horner.

Red Bull’s teenage sensation reminisces of his foray into Formula One and he will be hoping to build on his strong performance in Sepang:

“I will spend a couple of days in Tokyo before heading to the track, which will be nice. Japan will always be a special place for me because I made my F1 debut there during Friday practice.

“Suzuka is a really cool track as well, especially Sector 1, it’s very fast and that’s what drivers enjoy. There is not much run off either, so you have to be very precise; it’s a proper old-school track, very challenging and demanding,” said Verstappen.

Dominic Rust

Red Bull reinforced their dominance over Ferrari for the battle of who finishes second to Mercedes as Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen ended the Malaysian Grand Prix in first and second respectively.

Lewis Hamilton was the race leader but his car caught fire which meant the Englishman did not finish the race in Sepang.

Nico Rosberg had some bad luck too as he collided with Sebastian Vettel at turn one and suffered a ten second penalty although the Mercedes driver finished in third.

“A couple of weeks ago I said we’d win a race this year but to be honest I didn’t expect a win to come at this circuit.

I also want to dedicate the win to Jules (Bianchi), I have been waiting for a victory to dedicate to him. My life definitely changed since that incident and I am extremely grateful and appreciative of everything I’ve got, “said the grateful Ricciardo.

Formula One has been pigeon-holed as a sport that is all about the team winning rather than spectacular racing but this weekend we saw a great battle between Ricciardo and Verstappen, who said:

“The battle with Daniel during the race was great and really good fun. We have a lot of respect for each other so you can see we gave plenty of space but were still able to push hard.

The team told us we were free to race as long as we kept it clean, which we did. It is really nice to hear that from the radio.”

Subsequently this was Red Bull’s first one-two on the podium since Brazil 2013 so this must put the team into a great position mentally ahead of the remainder of the season and perhaps 2017.

Dominic Rust

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo separated the Mercedes pair of Niko Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton as he continued his good form in Singapore.

This weekend’s racing comes in the form of the Sepang circuit in Malaysia.

Both Ricciardo and Verstappen have opted for four hard, three medium and six soft compound tyres for the track that is known for its humid conditions.

The 18-year-old said:” The pace on the soft tyre felt decent, I feel like that tyre has potential on a long run and it allowed me to throw the car into the corners like I wanted to.

“The weather can vary quite a bit as well. We can get some pretty big storms, but then the track can dry up very quickly because of the high temperature.”

Red Bull have chosen a different strategy to Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton and Niko Rosberg have chosen eight sets of the soft tyre.

Which could mean Mercedes will aim to use the speed alongside the soft compound to make sure they are faster than the rest during the race.

For Christian Horner’s team this could be a case of using the hard tyre at the start so that they can use the soft tyre at the end of the race to gain more points if necessary.

“Malaysia physically is a hot one. We usually go there at the beginning of the season so it is going to be interesting going there now with a lot more development on the car and seeing how it performs.

“I checked the weather and it seems pretty constant all year round so that shouldn’t change much, but Sepang has been resurfaced so that could be interesting for tyre life,” said Ricciardo.

Dominic Rust

Red Bull have performed well in Singapore in previous visits to the Marina Bay circuit and this weekend was no different.

Daniel Ricciardo began the race on the front row in second behind Niko Rosberg and despite starting the race on softer tyres the Australian was incapable of passing the German in the Mercedes who subsequently went on to win the race and leapfrog Lewis Hamilton in the Drivers’ Championship.

“I pushed so much at the end on the supersoft and really tried to do something but it wasn’t close enough. I don’t really leave here with any regrets. Obviously we came here to win and we didn’t but I felt we left it all on the track, “said the 26-year-old Red Bull driver.

Despite completing the race in second, Ricciardo’s podium finish means it was the third year in a row that the Australian has exceeded expectations in Singapore:

“We did everything we could and I thought it was pretty much a perfect race. The only thing that would have been better was to get Nico at the start.”

Verstappen had yet another meagre start and the Dutchman had an intriguing battle with Daniil Kyvat but he ended the race in sixth to extend Red Bull’s lead over Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship:

“I had a bad start, it wasn’t as bad as Monza but it wasn’t good, which is disappointing. I had a lot of wheel spin and then with Hulkenberg spinning in front of me,

“I had to brake even more which compromised my whole start. I got stuck behind slower cars in front of me and after three or four laps you lose the advantage and it completely destroys the tyres,“ said the 18-year-old.

Team Principal Christian Horner was happy with his team’s performance over the exciting circuit in Singapore:

“A really exciting finish to a long and hard grand prix but tyres and strategy were always going to be key.

“Overall a positive weekend, we’ve extended our lead over Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship, we’ve scored another second place finish and produced an enthralling end to the grand prix.”

Dominic Rust

Formula One heads to Asia this weekend, Singapore to be exact, and Red Bull will be hoping to replicate last season’s performance.

Daniel Ricciardo finished second behind Sebastian Vettel and former team-mate Daniil ended the race in sixth.

“It seems like a really fun city and I’m really fortunate to get a lot of people coming over from Australia and especially Perth, this means I get a lot of love in Singapore,” the 26-year-old said.

Red Bull are expected to perform well at the Marina Bay Circuit as it has similarities to Monaco where the 26-year-old was on pole but lost the race to Lewis Hamilton.

“Singapore is great, a real night race. Being able to drive through a massive city at night with all the lights flashing between buildings as you go past is an awesome feeling. It’s weird, I think it actually feels like you are going faster at night,” said the Australian Ricciardo

Max Verstappen finished in eighth for Toro Rosso last season in the same race and he will be confident despite his recent struggles.

“Being a night race means it’s a bit different, you have to adapt your braking zone as the light changes from the earlier session to the late ones.

“I enjoyed it a lot last year so I’m excited to go out there again,” Verstappen said.

Dominic Rust

Red Bull’s mission in Monza was ‘damage limitation’ as the team from Milton Keynes struggled to deal with the straight line speed of Mercedes and Red Bull.

Daniel Ricciardo finished behind Kimi Raikkonen in fifth whilst Max Verstappen had to settle for seventh.

“You hope for a podium every race but realistically, coming here, we thought Ferrari would have an edge on us,” said the Australian.

The highlight of the race was the 26-year-old’s breath-taking manoeuvre on Valtteri Bottas:

“I was pretty close to Bottas in the middle of the race and knew I could race hard from that position. It was a really enjoyable overtake. I have a three-hour drive home tonight and didn’t want to spend the whole journey regretting not trying it.”

Max Verstappen struggled to get off the line but the teenager managed to end up in the points:” I went into anti-stall at the start. I don’t know what happened there so I have to analyse that. After that it was just very difficult, because you have to push harder on the tyres to get past people and that compromises your strategy, but in the end our last stint was very positive.”

Team Principal Christian Horner was satisfied with his drivers’ performance and entering the second half of the season second in the drivers’ championship: “After a difficult start for Max, who got an anti-stall, he recovered extremely well to finish seventh, and Daniel finished well in P5 after an outstanding passing move on Valtteri Bottas. To be leaving Europe 11 points ahead of Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship heading to circuits that hopefully suit our strengths more than here, means this has been a positive weekend.”

Dominic Rust @DominicRust

Red Bull continued their strong foundations built during the first half of the season as Daniel Ricciardo separated the Mercedes pair.

The Australian gained 18 points for his team as the Milton Keynes team extended their lead over Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship.

“For the team to be coming away from Spa still second in the Constructors’ Championship, and having extended our lead over Ferrari, is more than we could have envisaged,” said Team Principal Christian Horner.

Max Verstappen ended in up in 11th place as he had a collision with Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen at the first corner:

“I didn’t start as well as I wanted but I got up the inside for the first corner then got squeezed by the two Ferraris.

“In the contact my front wing and the floor got destroyed so then the car was very difficult to drive and the race was gone. Still, I tried my best to come back especially for all the people who were cheering me on in the stands, but unfortunately I didn’t get in the points,” declared the pensive teenager.

Ricciardo showed his growing confidence behind the Red Bull as he has transcended last years’ points tally: “An impressive performance by Daniel today; a great disciplined drive, looking after his tyres and making an effective two-stop strategy work. To finish second, at the type of venue that we weren’t expecting to be our strongest, is an amazing result.