Daniel Ricciardo has closed to within just 35 points of Lewis Hamilton and 64 of championship leader Nico Rosberg to put him in good standings to mount a challenge for the title.
The Australian admits things are looking up for Red Bull if they can score maximum points at a circuit where they have themselves no chance of a podium, let alone a win.
“I see good things ahead if we can collect maximum points around here,” he said. “It gives us a bit more hope for the circuits that are going to come later in the season, Singapore, Suzuka, just a couple to mention.
“It is great! We are really motivated right now and it has been a really good day for us on a track where we didn’t expect to get maximum points.
“I’ll keep smiling for a while but I still stay grounded. Monza I know will be tricky again bur the package we bought here was pretty racy, so we’ll try to take something from here to Monza, and Singapore, Suzuka will be pretty good for us.”
When asked if he could win the championship, he replied: “If I am within 50 [points] coming into Abu Dhabi then yeah.”
