Canadian GP: Time to move on for Ricciardo

Red Bull's poor strategy choice at the Spanish GP followed by a calamitous pit-stop error in Monaco saw Ricciardo denied victory in consecutive Formula One races and is hoping to move on at this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix.

Published : Jun 10, 2016 12:54 IST , Montreal

Daniel Ricciardo will be hoping luck stays with him at this week's Canadian GP.
Daniel Ricciardo will be hoping luck stays with him at this week's Canadian GP.
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Daniel Ricciardo will be hoping luck stays with him at this week's Canadian GP.

After back-to-back heartbreaks in Barcelona and Monaco,  Daniel Ricciardo  is hoping to move on at this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix.

Red Bull's poor strategy choice at the Spanish GP followed by a calamitous pit-stop error in Monaco saw Ricciardo denied victory in consecutive Formula One races. The costly mistake at the Monaco Grand Prix saw Ricciardo's trademark smile disappear post-race, saying he had been "screwed" two weekends in a row after finishing second behind Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton. 

But now, after a week and a half to compose himself and sort out his array of emotions, the Australian is looking to put all of it behind him, starting at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. "Obviously I had plenty of questions to ask but they answered them with confidence and that's all I needed to hear," Ricciardo said. 

"I spoke to various people in the team and they basically explained what happened at the time and the situation. It was obviously important to hear the explanation but I think more important how to move on from it and how to make sure it doesn't happen again. 

"I've moved on. I've still obviously got a lot of faith in the team and I don't doubt things with them moving forwards. For me it's obviously really important this weekend to execute a perfect weekend from my side and from the team's side and get back on track."

Sergio Perez  joined Ricciardo on the podium in Monaco, driving his Force India home for third spot on the grid. However, the Mexican is not getting ahead of himself, insisting it is difficult to start expecting podiums every race.

"Monaco was a very special race under certain conditions and to get into the points, everything worked perfectly for us," the 26-year-old said.

"We are expecting something similar here for Sunday but you never know.  Probably podiums is not the realistic word for us at the moment but certainly continue the progress and keep scoring points and aim to beat Williams, which is the team ahead of us."

One of those Williams drivers is  Felipe Massa , who has scored points in four out of his last five races in Canada. 

"I really hope we can score more than what we're doing," the Brazilian said. "You always want more. It's on the consistent side in terms of scoring points but we need to work to get a little bit more than one point like we did in Monaco and getting closer to the top five at every race."

Ferrari's  Kimi Raikkonen  has finished in the top five in four out of the six races so far in 2016, but has yet to taste victory. In fact, the Finn has not won since March 2013. 

"Obviously you always look for better results and wins, putting the two cars up there, but so far it's been a bit tricky this start of the year, but we are more or less there, so we keep doing the same things," the 36-year-old said. 

McLaren driver  Jenson Button  has 15 F1 wins to his name, but none more dramatic than his 2011 victory in Montreal. The Briton had two collisions, falling to last place midway through the race, before battling back to win in the heavy rain. 

"[Twenty-eleven] was very special," he recalled. "You know me, I'm a trouper, and it's about fighting through and never giving up. So, it's always those special experiences that make an event for me."

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