I touched cloth - Ricciardo takes third, requires new underwear
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Daniel Ricciardo says he's relieved he raced in older underwear after joking he 'touched cloth' when he nearly threw a third place finish away by tapping the barriers at Ste Devote in the closing stages of the Monaco Grand Prix.
The Australian was running in the podium position in the second safety car period brought out by Pascal Wehrlein's stricken Sauber, when he ran off line heading into the first corner brushing the left side of his Red Bull along the barrier.
Despite the near miss, Ricciardo was able to fend off a charging Valtteri Bottas heading up Beau Rivage to maintain third for his second consecutive podium, a position inherited thanks to a successful overcut strategy.
However, when it came to explaining why he had an off in the first place, he said non-optimal tyre temperatures was the most likely cause - albeit in his typically candid way.
"I think I touched cloth, they're old underwear so I normally race with older stuff because I know these moments may happen," Ricciardo said.
"[It's] still a bit there, but it's fine! I touched the wall, that was pretty unexpected because I didn't brake late or anything, I felt like I was quite cautious but as soon as I turned I was like, 'the car's not turning, it's not turning' then I hit it, and I was like surely I've damaged the front wing or something.
"The excuse I guess is just cold tyres. We can see the temperatures on our dash, so we're aware when they're cold. We can feel them, we don't always need to see the numbers but I could see they were very cold. They just lose temperature really quick. We're all aware of that but we'll see. Maybe in years to come we can have a super, super, supersoft tyre for Monaco."
Despite the near miss, Ricciardo was pleased with the performance displayed during the Monaco GP which allowed him to show the full potential of the Red Bull around a high downforce circuit.
"The first few laps were tricky but I'm just happy to be on the podium," the Australian continued. "Also, happy because it's a reward for myself and the team, happy that we showed pace today and showed more of our potential around these streets.
"Thanks to the homies, I think today we're a lot happier."
