Ricciardo declares: 'It was a Monza scenario'

Daniel Ricciardo has had a difficult start of the season. The Australian saw his team mate Lando Norris do well during the first three races, while he scored significantly fewer points. In qualifying in Spain however, it was the other way around.

The McLaren driver performed excellently on Saturday afternoon and recorded the seventh fastest time. With that, he drove a faster time than Sergio Perez, who since this season drives for his old team Red Bull Racing. Ricciardo was partially satisfied afterwards. "We missed the last run," Ricciardo told the attending press. "We ran out of time so it was a Monza scenario. It was a tenth to fourth and I think a tenth is always there especially when I am still trying to get on top of the car."

Ricciardo agrees he's had a tough start at McLaren, but he's not letting that distract him from his performance. "It's funny everyone's narrative... it's taken some time to get up to speed and also on that Lando has been driving exceptionally well and these two factors have been challenging. From that note its a positive," he added.

His teammate Norris finished in ninth position, just ahead of Fernando Alonso. Norris is currently third in the world championship with 37 points. He has five points more than Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas, who is in fourth place.