Daniel Ricciardo heaps pressure on Red Bull over F1 team orders

DANIEL Ricciardo knows if he is going to be any chance of chasing down Mercedes for the F1 title, he needs the team to make big decisions.

MONZA, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 07: Daniel Ricciardo of Australia and Infiniti Red Bull Racing sits in his car prior to the F1 Grand Prix of Italy at Autodromo di Monza on September 7, 2014 in Monza, Italy. (Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images)

DANIEL Ricciardo said he was “sure” Red Bull would employ team orders in the final six races of the Formula 1 season to help him in his quest to hunt down the front-running Mercedes.

But Red Bull team boss Christian Horner isn’t so sure.

Lewis Hamilton and his championship-leading teammate completed a dominant Mercedes one-two at the Italian Grand Prix, as Ricciardo produced another fine drive — and passing move on Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel — to finish fifth.

It means Ricciardo now trails Rosberg by 72 points in the overall standings, and leads Vettel by 60.

The Aussie believes he can bridge the gap if Red Bull throws all its efforts behind his title bid.

“My lead is around 60 points over Seb [Vettel],” Ricciardo said.

“I would love to be quicker on merit and not need team orders, but the next couple of tracks are perfect for us so if we need to make any decisions if we can challenge Mercedes for the title then I am sure they will be made.”

Daniel Ricciardo believes he can chase down Mercedes for the F1 title.

Horner, however, said the gap to Rosberg was too great for the team to intervene.

“We are so far back at the moment that it is not worth getting involved,” Horner said.

“We will let the drivers race.”

Two weeks after their collision at the Belgian Grand Prix, Hamilton and Rosberg were on speaking terms again on Sunday, putting on a united front for Mercedes after the team’s seventh one-two triumph of the year.

Ricciardo, who had won the Hungarian and Belgian races but qualified ninth fastest at Monza, moved up four places to finish fifth — one spot ahead of Vettel.

Williams pair Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas finished third and fourth respectively.

Hamilton, aggressive and flawless, drove with great speed and daring to turn a poor start, when he dropped to fourth from pole position, into the 28th win of his career to trim the German’s lead in the title race from 29 points to 22.

Ricciardo in action at Italian Grand Prix in Monza, where he finished fifth.

Rosberg, who buckled under pressure and locked up twice at the first chicane while leading, ended up 3.1 seconds adrift in second place and, as at Spa-Francorchamps, was booed by some of the crowd during the prize-giving on the podium.

Hamilton reacted by applauding Rosberg and speaking generously for the Mercedes team, which, on Friday, had made clear that their drivers’ jobs were in danger if they allowed their rivalry to spin out of control again.

“Of course, we are still friends,” Hamilton said. “We’re teammates and we always will be.”

The words came easily but did not match the mood after a tense race that saw Hamilton regain some ground and Massa deliver his first podium finish since joining Williams from Ferrari.

Hamilton, whose front wing was changed on the grid, was advised by the team to drop back from Rosberg, to avoid losing time in his tow, but instead he pushed.

“They said that I should stay back but, from experience, I knew that wasn’t the way forward, so I chose another route,” he said.

He pushed, applied pressure and, on lap 29, Rosberg cracked and ran straight on at the first chicane.

It was Hamilton’s second win at Monza and his sixth victory of 2014, recharging his momentum for the final six races of the season.

Rosberg was disappointed, but diplomatic.

“Well done guys on a deserved one-two,” he said on the team radio.

“It’s a good result for the team. Sorry to the guys on my side of the garage. It’s a shame.”