Ricciardo: With these tyres you drive the out-lap like your grandma

In an era of excessive and controlled tyre wear, with the life of the option tyre being measured in corners rather Daniel Ricciardo explains what is required to make sure that he optimised his tyres ahead of a hot lap during qualifying.

Speaking ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix weekend, the Red Bull driver explained how the tyres work, “The fact it comes in straight away is awesome. In qualifying, you drive the out-lap like your grandma, desperately trying to not kill it before the flying lap starts.”

But added, “I still prefer it to the scenario with a tyre that takes three laps to come in.”

Ricciardo is hoping that Red Bull can find some better performance in the RB11, as he has struggled to stay on the pace so far this season – being lapped during the recent Malaysian Grand Prix.

Speaking about Shanghai International Circuit and its famous long main staright, Ricciardo joked, “Yep, it’s long alright. You could drink a can of Red Bull driving down it. I’ve heard quite a few drivers saying it’s pretty boring. Ha! If they think it’s boring in a Formula 1 car, they should have tried coming here in Formula BMW.”

“I drove here as a kid, all massive afro and enthusiasm and, trust me, it was the sort of straight where I’d definitely have been reaching for a book if I’d had one,” he said.

As for the special bits that standout, Ricciardo ventured, “The paddock – it’s enormous! You need to be an athlete just to get around. As for the track itself, I’d call it ‘technical’. Turns One, Two and Three are all very long and technical. I don’t think there’s any other corner like it on the calendar. And it’s very, very aggressive on the front tyres.”

As for the biggest city in the world on the horizon, Ricciardo said, “The city’s pretty cool and the markets in particular are a bit of an eye-opener. They seem to have more technology than I ever thought existed.”

“I stay close to the track, so I’ll only really dip into the city for one day, to do a bit of shopping or go out. I’ve found a few nice restaurants in the last few years, and I do like the local food,” added the big smiling Australian.