Daniel Ricciardo’s Formula 1 revival reaches new heights at China Grand Prix

Australian Formula 1 star Daniel Ricciardo has continued his stunning form turnaround with his latest impressive display.

Daniel Ricciardo has flipped the script on his teammate. (Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images)

Daniel Ricciardo’s revival has continued after his latest stellar outing during the China Grand Prix weekend.

The 34-year-old entered the fifth race weekend with serious question marks hanging overhead after failing to keep up with his teammate.

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Yuki Tsunoda held all the cards in the head-to-head battle between the pair, but that all changed at the Shanghai International Circuit.

After out-qualifying Tsunoda in the sprint race qualifying, Ricciardo finished well ahead of his teammate during the race, crossing the line 11th while the Japanese driver came 16th.

The eight-time Grand Prix winner then proved his form turnaround was no fluke as he took the chocolates in qualifying for Sunday’s race.

Tsunoda struggled to get his Visa Cash App RB up to speed as he was knocked out in the opening session and will start the race from 19th on the grid.

Ricciardo showed far more promise and blitzed his way around the track to just miss out on the third and final session.

His time will see him start the race from 12th, on the sixth row alongside Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.

“Yeah I’m excited for tomorrow,” Ricciardo said over the radio after finishing the second session.

Ricciardo has turned it around. (Photo by Andres Martinez Casares / POOL / AFP)

It was a mixed day for fellow Aussie Oscar Piastri after his pace during Saturday’s sprint race raised eyebrows among the commentary crew.

Piastri started the first sprint race on the calendar from eighth on the grid but couldn’t make any forward impact as he struggled to keep pace with teammate Lando Norris.

The rising star ultimately crossed the line in seventh place, moving up one spot thanks to the retirement of Fernando Alonso.

But it was his lacklustre race pace that left those watching on worried about what may unfold during Sunday’s race.

“What a difference between Norris and Piastri’s race pace. Piastri’s just been completely dropped by his teammate. Don’t know whether he’s over saving his tyres. That’s a bit worrying for Piastri for tomorrow. Something he’ll have a look at,” Ted Kravitz said on the coverage.

Piastri managed to turn things around during qualifying as he showed far more pace that ultimately saw him finish in fifth place.

Piastri’s race pace struggles weren’t sighted in qualifying. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images )

The final sprint to the line saw the changes come storming in as Ferrari duo Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc moved up to second spot on the grid behind Max Verstappen.

Piastri then pipped them both before he was knocked back down the order by Norris only for the McLaren duo to both be dumped by Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.

It was then Sergio Perez who stormed home to lock out the front row for Red Bull ahead of the race on Sunday.

CHINA GRAND PRIX STARTING GRID

Front row: 1. Max Verstappen, 2. Sergio Perez

Second row: 3. Fernando Alonso, 4. Lando Norris

Third row: 5. Oscar Piastri, 6. Charles Leclerc

Fourth row: 7. Carlos Sainz, 8. George Russell

Fifth row: 9. Nico Hulkenberg, 10. Valtteri Bottas

Sixth row: 11. Lance Stroll, 12. Daniel Ricciardo

Seventh row: 13. Esteban Ocon, 14. Alex Albon

Eighth row: 15. Pierre Gasly, 16. Zhou Guanyu

Ninth row: 17. Kevin Magnussen, 18. Lewis Hamilton

Tenth row: 19. Yuki Tsunoda, 20. Logan Sargeant

Originally published as Daniel Ricciardo’s Formula 1 revival reaches new heights at China Grand Prix