Daniel Ricciardo Predicts Tight Midfield Battle

Renault driver Daniel Ricciardo is of the opinion that it is down to the drivers in the midfield battle. According to him, they will be the deciding factor in the championship fight, this is because the competition in Formula 1’s midfield is so high.

Ricciardo believes that at least five or six teams behind the top three stand a chance at scoring points in Melbourne. Renault themselves are expected to be the fourth fastest, the Aussie is refraining from making any predictions for his home race.

“I still don’t really know what to expect in Melbourne,” he admitted to Racer. “I think the midfield battle will be very close.”

“I don’t expect to be on the front row, but I don’t expect to be on the back row of the grid. We will be somewhere there in the middle.”

“It could even come down to which driver does the better lap in Q2 or Q3,” he added. “A lot of the cars are going to be very close.”

“So it could just be whoever does a cleaner lap – that could make a difference of one or even three positions. I’m looking forward to seeing where everyone is at.”

Ricciardo also revealed that a clear hierarchy will be seen in the midfield at least by Monaco. The ‘Honey Badger’ is notorious for being one of F1’s demon overtakers and he will be looking forward to getting his claws out.

“I’m certainly looking forward to battles. Obviously the further up the grid, the better! I’m expecting a lot,” Daniel Ricciardo continued.

“The midfield looks really close and even last year it was tight, you could always see that battle for fourth position in the Constructors’ so that was always going to be close.”

“The further up the front, the more fun I’ll be having. In the past few years, I’ve said winning is the greatest satisfaction you get from racing, but the second biggest thing is battling and fighting.”

“Just driving around for 60 laps by yourself isn’t so fun, so if you’re in a battle and you get the most of that battle that’s very rewarding.”