“I had to defend pretty hard” – Daniel Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo rounded off the American Grand Prix as top Mclaren F1 Team driver after finishing fifth at the Circuit of the Americas, team-mate Lando Norris finished eighth.

It was a strong Grand Prix by Ricciardo, the Australian had an excellent battle on the opening lap with team-mate Norris and Scuderia Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr, with Ricciardo coming out on top.

The Honey Badger spent the rest of the race fending off Sainz behind in what was a strong defensive performance by Ricciardo, the Australian was extremely happy with how his race panned out.

“I’m really happy. We weren’t quicker than the Ferraris, so I’m happy to beat one of them. I had to defend pretty hard for a few laps there, so I’m happy to have held him off. It was a tricky race. I was fighting quite a bit to hold what I had, but I think on paper fifth is really good. It’s good points.

“We stole a little bit from Carlos [Sainz], and Valtteri [Bottas] got him at the end, so that was a bit of damage limitation. We’ll come back in Mexico and hopefully have a bit more to show against them. The fans were awesome, the crowd was sick, hopefully they enjoyed it.”   

“Not a great day” – Lando Norris

Lando Norris had a more difficult Grand Prix, the British driver struggled to look after his tyres and was overall slower than the Ferrari’s ahead.

Norris leaves America disappointed with his race but is determined to pick himself up looking ahead to Mexico.

“A very difficult race today. The wind conditions and the temperature made it very difficult to look after the tyres, so that meant we struggled quite a bit with pace compared to the Ferraris, who were strong today. I also think there were some areas I could’ve done better, including defending on some moves.

“The start was pretty exciting but we just weren’t able to stay ahead of the Ferraris in front. So, not a great day today, but we’ll pick ourselves up and look forward to Mexico. I just want to get back in the car already and keep working hard to make some progress in our championship battle.” 

Credit: Charles Coates/ Motorsport Images/ Mclaren Media Centre