Daniel Ricciardo admitted he was glad to hang on to a podium finish at the Monaco Grand Prix after fearing the worst following contact with the barriers in the closing stages.
The Australian leapt from fifth to third after running a long first stint that saw him overcut the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas and Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen, who had held third and fourth for much of the race.
However, his podium hopes were almost dashed when he hit the barriers at St Devote after a late race Safety Car restart.
Ricciardo was concerned the impact had damaged his car but somehow his RB13 emerged unscathed, allowing him to fend off Bottas and Verstappen to finish third, behind the Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen.
“I think I touched cloth, I touched the wall and that was unexpected,” said Ricciardo when asked about the incident.
“I didn’t brake late or anything but then as soon as I turned, the car was not turning.
“I hit it (the barrier) and I thought I damaged the front wing. I was worried about damage and then I saw Valtteri in my blindspot and I knew I couldn’t let him past. I’m happy to be back on the podium.
“The tyres after the Safety Car are like driving on ice so I was happy to hold onto it.”
Ricciardo’s podium arrived just 24 hours after he made critical comments against his team for a mistake which hampered him in qualifying.
The four-time grand prix winner was quick to praise his team’s strategy call which helped him to a second podium of the year.
“It worked today for sure, I’m happier,” he added.
“I can’t complain with how it worked out today.
“It was nice and it was cool to show some pace.
“I think the tyres had more but I was able to get into this rhythm and punch out some good times.
“I knew the race was good and my engineer was telling me to keep that up. It was motivating.”
While happy to be on the rostrum, he admits street circuits remain the team’s best hope to challenge Mercedes and Ferrari.
“I think the street circuits at the moment are our stronger suit at the moment,” he said.
“We have to keep improving. We tried the T wing and all that jazz so we will see if that stays on the car for Canada.”
Ricciardo heads to the Canadian Grand Prix (June 9-11) lying fifth in the championship standings.
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