Daniel Ricciardo confident things are "turning around" after "wild" sprint qualifying

Daniel Ricciardo feels things are “turning around” for him after starring in F1 sprint qualifying at the Miami Grand Prix.

Ricciardo qualified fourth in Friday’s sprint qualifying session, giving RB their best grid position of the season.

A chassis change in China appears to have ignited Ricciardo’s season after an underwhelming opening four races.

Ricciardo’s future at RB was in question due to how much he was underperforming relative to teammate Yuki Tsunoda in the early races.

China might prove to be the turning point after he out-performed Tsunoda across the weekend.

So far at least, Miami has been a similar story, securing fourth on the grid for the sprint.

Reflecting on his performance, he told Sky: “I know it's in me - but did I expect to do a second-row start? Probably not that good.

“I felt really good in SQ2 and I knew that lap would be good enough for SQ3. I think at that point I was P5 and in my head I was thinking 'P5 would be really nice for SQ3' and then we got P4.

“It was wild because the laps were good but it's hard to be really clean around here, it was a tricky track, and that middle sector, it’s hard to get it right. Both laps I kissed the wall, the first one was a hit, it felt pretty big.

“I was definitely pushing. It was really good. I'm very proud of what I did today but also the team has been bringing upgrades the last few races.

"I had the chassis change last race in China and we had a new floor here, so it definitely looks like it's turning around.”

Ricciardo will look to score his first points of the season in the 100km sprint race on Saturday.

Points are handed out to just the top eight finishers and Ricciardo is hoping he is able to “go with the leaders” to cling onto a points-paying position.

“Certainly. I can dream of everything,” he added. “It's just so nice starting towards the front. Even from the point of view of being out of that mid-pack, it’s normally a bit of chaos. 

"Hopefully you go with the leaders, it’s a short race so hopefully get through enough of it with them and end up with a big bag of points.”