Ricciardo hopes to avoid 'boring' Russia race

Daniel Ricciardo admits that he is unsure whether Red Bull will be able to fight through the field at the Russian Grand Prix. Ricciardo and Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen are set to start the race from the back of the grid after taking fresh power units and gearboxes.

Red Bull have opted to take penalties in Sochi, with potential gains to be made in upcoming races in Japan and Mexico.

Ricciardo and Verstappen only ran in Q1 on Saturday in Russia and will occupy the back row of the grid, but big points remain the target for both.

Asked to sum up his race expectations, Ricciardo told Sky Sports: "I don't know actually, not in a negative way.

"We could end up the race in the top five or we could end up scraping outside the top 10. I really don't know.

"I'm more optimistic we can get a good bag of points, but it really depends on how the tyres handle. Yesterday there was a lot of deg, the temperature tomorrow is a lot hotter than it was Friday so it's going to change a lot.

"We'll find out but I want to say I'm convinced it's not going to be an easy one-stop and boring race.

"I think there'll be a lot going on. The GP3 race this morning, there was a lot of tyre degradation and it was pretty good to watch, so hopefully it's a sign of things to come for us."

Ricciardo and Verstappen were quicker than Ferrari in FP2 on Friday, as well as Saturday's opening qualifying session, before they bowed out – pace that has seemingly surprised the team.

"We don't come to this circuit with massive expectations because it's one we've never really gone that well on, but yesterday seemed pretty good, positive for us," Ricciardo added.

"I think we'll be alright in the race. Following's hard, but with the amount of degradation everyone's getting we should be able to pick our way through the field."

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