Daniel Ricciardo: A positive Sunday in Austria

After a tough qualifying for the Australian, Daniel Ricciardo finished seventh in the Austrian Grand Prix, which had him starting 13^th on the grid.

The result was positive for Ricciardo, after a 13^th finish at the same circuit the weekend prior.

The McLaren team had a strong weekend overall, with Lando Norris finishing in third and extending its lead over Ferrari in the constructors by seven points – the team remains in third place with 141 points.

"It was a nice day for the team with a podium for Lando and getting into the points for me. That was good," Ricciardo said on reflection.

P13 to P7 🇦🇺@danielricciardo pulled off a solid recovery drive at the #AustrianGP.#F1 pic.twitter.com/GvZOM15fr6

— F1 Australian Grand Prix (@ausgrandprix) July 4, 2021

Ricciardo didn't waste any time in the race, moving from 13^th to P9 in the opening laps. His racecraft was on display as he overtook Carlos Sainz, Sergio Perez and Sebastian Vettel.

In the final laps, Ricciardo was under attack from the two Ferrari drivers. Charles Leclerc wasn't able to get the McLaren driver, so team orders came into play, and Sainz was then unleashed to see if he could take P6 from Ricciardo.

On the penultimate lap, the Australian could not defend any longer and lost the position to Sainz and crossed the line shortly after in P7.

"I just had a pretty fun race. It was busy, trying to attack and defend. It's one I could enjoy and take some fulfilment from. The defence was tough," Ricciardo said.

"I was trying everything I could, every trick in the book to stay ahead. I think I held on as long as I could and Sainz was just a bit quicker at the end with a fresher tyre – but I can't complain with the race and the result.

"A better day. Happy to have finished the first triple-header of the season. As fun as the triple-headers are, they're tiring. Everyone can enjoy a break now.

"We'll look forward to Silverstone and the new format there. It should be interesting!"