Ricciardo says it’s ‘nice to keep a few people quiet’ after determined drive to P4 in Miami Sprint

Daniel Ricciardo hailed a “powerful” result for himself and RB after scoring his first points of the season with a hard-fought fourth-place finish in the Miami Grand Prix Sprint race.

Ricciardo started Saturday’s 19-lap encounter on the second row and briefly moved up to third behind Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, only to be re-passed by Sergio Perez as the race progressed.

READ MORE: Verstappen charges to Sprint race win over Leclerc and Perez in Miami

From there, though, Ricciardo dug deep to keep both Carlos Sainz and Oscar Piastri at bay to the chequered flag, despite plenty of pressure from the DRS-assisted Ferrari and McLaren drivers.

It continues a recent, upward trend for Ricciardo, who was out-performed by team mate Yuki Tsunoda in the early stages of the campaign, leading to some speculation in the paddock over his F1 future.

Asked for his reaction to the Sprint result in an interview with Sky Sports F1, Ricciardo said: “It’s a happy feeling, it’s a powerful feeling, also to back up yesterday.

“Qualifying was obviously great, but to back it up over the course of a Sprint race, that’s even more satisfying. It feels very good and nice to also keep a few people quiet!

SPRINT START: Verstappen leads while drama behind triggers Safety Car and forces Norris out

“I’ve literally just stopped sweating. I’m still sweating a little bit, but I couldn’t breathe the whole race. I figured I’d try my best to keep them behind… if the tyres go, then they go, but every lap I could defend, for me that was like a pat on the back.”

As for where the apparent breakthrough has come from, Ricciardo pointed to the new chassis he took on at the last race, as well as the latest batch of upgrades RB rolled out at the Miami International Autodrome.

“Immediately I honestly felt something [with the new chassis], I felt more feeling and a bit more confidence in what the car was going to give me,” he explained.

“It’s not that it was far off, there was just something missing compared to Yuki at the start of the year, I could just feel like I wasn’t able to do what he was able to do in a lot of the corners.

AS IT HAPPENED: All the action from the F1 Sprint in Miami

“I knew there was something there, so I think there really was something with the chassis… maybe the team still doesn’t think so, but I do. Then we had a floor upgrade here and I think that’s helped us in the high-speed.”

Ricciardo and the rest of the field will next be in action during qualifying for the Grand Prix later on Saturday, although the Australian is set to drop three places on the grid due to a penalty picked up in Shanghai.