Daniel Ricciardo has said ‘why not’ when considering whether he can compete at the sharp end of the field for the duration of Sunday’s 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix.
The AlphaTauri driver will line up fourth for Sunday’s race in the Mexican capital, after putting in a stellar performance in Qualifying. In terms of his chances in the 2023 Mexico City GP, Ricciardo highlighted the undeniable pace of his car.
“Part of me for the next hour wants to celebrate today,” Ricciardo said to the press, “because it’s a day that should be celebrated, [by] the team as well, but I don’t think the car we have this weekend is a ‘P10 in the constructors’ car
“Part of me kind of says why not [we can fight at the front] because today was genuine pace and all weekend I’ve felt like if I put the lap together we were a top six car.
“By default you expect the top teams to have more race pace but part of me also says why can’t we fight at the front tomorrow?”
Ricciardo reflects on a stunning Saturday
In fact, Ricciardo has been strong all weekend, and was naturally in an upbeat mood as he looked back on his display on Saturday.
“To be honest even during the week I was already thinking about driving a lot more, in terms of just waiting for it to be Friday,” Ricciardo said to the press.
“I felt like there were some things to show and things to try with the car. I was confident I would be able to get more out of the car, so before the weekend I was feeling hungry. In a positive way I had a chip on my shoulder.
“From lap one yesterday I felt good and I think all weekend we’ve been a top ten car.
“You never know in qualy but I was confident I could get some more tenths out of the car… even in Q3 when we didn’t have a tow [we were quick] so we had raw pace.”
