Ricciardo to 'get elbows out' in podium fight

Daniel Ricciardo has promised to 'get elbows out' in his pursuit of a podium place at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina but has insisted that Red Bull will have to improve on their qualifying performance if they are to overcome Ferrari or Mercedes.

Ricciardo finished fourth and will start the Grand Prix alongside Sebastian Vettel on the second row, having ousted Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen to break up the Scuderia duo, something the Australian was pleased with.

“I was happy with that,” said Ricciardo.

“I thought we had the pace [for the second row] and I would have been disappointed if we couldn’t show it. I really thought if I put a good lap together we could sneak ahead of at least one Ferrari.

“Seb had a bit too much, but I was happy to get Kimi. Nice way to close out the year, hasn’t been the perfect year in terms of qualifying, in terms of what I expect from myself, but it was nice to finish with a good lap.”

If Ricciardo is to go on and claim a place on the podium, it is likely that he will have to better a Ferrari or Mercedes driver again like in qualifying and he claimed that his place on the grid will give him a good fighting chance, even if he has to 'get elbows out'.

“It's certainly an opportunity, we’re close,” he continued.

“All I need is a good start and then we're there.

“Yesterday our long runs weren’t as good as Mercedes or Ferrari, we’re certainly a few tenths off, but we made a few little changes overnight which I think helped.

"As the track improves, by tomorrow it should come to us. I’m certainly keen to get my elbows out and try to fight for the podium.”