Ricciardo set to pounce
Starting just behind Rosberg tonight, Red Bull driver's poised to steal the stage
Daniel Ricciardo came out of 60 minutes of qualifying, beaming from ear to ear.
It was the face of a man who had stolen pole position.
But he did not. He could not dig deep enough to outpace Mercedes' Nico Rosberg and had to settle for second.
Still, he starts tonight's Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix from the front row and is a real threat to the championship leader.
But that wasn't the real reason the Aussie was smiling and Rosberg was a little subdued at the post-qualifying press conference.
There was that Monaco incident that Ricciardo is still fuming about.
Back in May, he was on pole there but lost the race to the German because of a Red Bull tyre mix-up.
Deep down, the 27-year-old knows in a longer race stint on a street track like the Marina Bay, Red Bull have the edge over Mercedes.
MERCEDES MIRE
And he knows that even though the German team may have fixed the tyre issues that scuppered their race here last year, they have had a troubled weekend with other issues.
Ricciardo enjoyed a smooth weekend and that all he needs to do tonight is to muscle his way to the front at the first turn.
Then the race is for him to lose. And when it comes to wheel-to-wheel combat, he is better at it than Rosberg.
"I would love to get a win this year," Ricciardo told the media.
"Obviously, we've come close but haven't held the big trophy on Sunday.
"I've put myself in a good position, pole would have been ideal but second is the next best for today.
"If we can get a good start and track position, then, we can try to control the race as well as possible.
"There will be some curveballs I'm sure tomorrow with safety cars and what-not but, yeah, at least we're at the pointy end.
"Hopefully stay out of trouble and then try and get that victory this year."
With the Red Bull's speed in Friday's practice and qualifying, Rosberg has conceded the looming threat from Aussie and vowed to keep an eye on him.
Ricciardo, who picked up the scent that he had rattled the championship contender and with Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton set to pile the pressure on the German in the title battle, said he was in prime position.
Added the Perth native: "As Nico said, our race pace was pretty good yesterday. Here, track position and the safety car can dictate a lot and we're in a good position.
"Hopefully for our sake, it's a new winner."
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