Daniel Ricciardo remains the only man to have beaten a Mercedes this season – something he has managed to do twice – and as a result he is “riding the crest of a confidence wave” according to Red Bull boss Christian Horner.
“It was an incredible performance,” said the Briton after the race.
He praised the Australian’s drive from fourth to take his second victory of the season.
“Daniel was intelligent enough in not burning up his tyres in the pack. He then had enough rubber when those guys [ahead] pitted for their stops to use his pace and put in a long stint,” explained Horner.
“The guy is riding the crest of a confidence wave at the moment. You probably heard it in his radio message after he passed two world champions…
“He’s driving the car with such ease at the moment – and things are just falling right for him as well. Being able to get in at the right time for that first stop was a critical element of the race.
“We then had a problem on one of the cylinders in his engine in that penultimate stint. Again, the Renault guys were able to find a way around it, to disable the sensor, and then his passing moves in the last five laps just topped a fantastic race.”
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