'We Have To Start From Scratch' Says Ricciardo After P7 In Mexico City

Friday, 03 November 2023 at 17:00

AlphaTauri driver Daniel Ricciardo reflected on the amazing result achieved during the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix but said the team has to start from scratch in Brazil.

Last week's race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez was the second race for Daniel Ricciardo after coming back from injury to take his seat back from his substitute, Liam Lawson.

The first race after the injury was the United States Grand Prix which did not go as well for the Honey Badger after he suffered damage to his car and fell down the grid to finish in P15.

However, the Australian exceeded everybody's expectations when he qualified in P4 on Saturday in Mexico City and crossed the line in P7 on Sunday to collect six points and lift AlphaTauri 2 position in the Championship. As quoted by formula1.com, he said:

"Also for the team, obviously, I haven’t been here long, but for them to be 10th in the constructors’, to jump two places in the space of two weekends was huge, so I think that kind of creates a very happy atmosphere around everyone."

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Ricciardo said "in space of two weekends" because his teammate Yuki Tsunoda collected five valuable points in Austin by finishing eighth and scoring the fastest lap of the race. He added:

"[I’m] kind of happy doing that and try to just keep charging on where I am. As obviously positive and awesome as Mexico was, it’s now that you switch the focus to this weekend."

Ricciardo appreciates the great result, but his focus has already switched to Sao Paulo and he said the team will have to start from scratch at Interlagos Circuit.

"It’s nice coming into a weekend after a good result, but we have to start from scratch here in terms of we’ve got one practice session."

The characteristics of the circuit in Brazil are a bit different from the one in Mexico. Interlagos circuit is more bumpy and is also not as high altitude as Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

"I think we’ve got a bit more confidence with where to start the car with set-up, but different track, different conditions. We’ll come in with the confidence but definitely staying grounded."