MARINA BAY, Singapore -- After three hours of practice in Singapore, Daniel Ricciardo ended the day as arguably the new man to beat this weekend, having comfortably topped both Friday sessions.
The Australian set a new lap record at the Marina Bay street circuit, a 1:40.852, and looked in his element, particularly in the final two sectors where he was easily the fastest on circuit. Teammate Max Verstappen finished FP2 second fastest but over half a second off the pace.
On Thursday, Ricciardo had said he fancied his chances in Singapore, but after his dominant day on track he has set himself a new lofty goal.
"A dominant weekend is what I'm after," said Ricciardo. "I want to continue like that for tomorrow and Sunday and I think we can.
"On these types of circuits we know we have a good chance, so I came here very committed and determined to do what we have done today. We will potentially be stronger than Ferrari and Mercedes [tomorrow and Sunday]."
Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton finished the day 0.7s behind Ricciardo but it was Sebastian Vettel, who struggled to complete a flying lap after a series of minor issues, who is yet to show his true pace in the Ferrari. However, even if the Scuderia find time tomorrow, Ricciardo is still confident Red Bull can do the same.
"We made some progress from this morning, even if we were quickest," he said. "I was still wanting more from the car and we found another step.
"I think we can find yet another half a step. We can still improve the long run pace but with the package we have it is pretty good."