"Well done Baku!" - Daniel Ricciardo excited to go racing in Azerbaijan

Daniel Ricciardo is looking forward to racing in Baku this weekend as the Azerbaijan Grand Prix provides the backdrop for round eight of the world championship.

The Australian will be hoping for an upturn in form in the McLaren after seeing speculation grow around his future within the team.

Indeed, it’s obvious he is a fantastic driver but he is still yet to really get a consistent tune out of his car and he’ll just hope for better days for the rest of the season, starting in Baku this weekend.

Certainly, he appears upbeat and optimistic around this weekend, with it clear that he is a big fan of the circuit and the sort of racing and opportunities it builds up.

Speaking to McLaren’s media team in their weekend preview piece, he had this to say:

“I’m a big fan of the Baku Circuit, it has some exciting features and it’s always a fun battle heading into Turn 1, where you often end up with three cars running side by side.

“There’s a couple of different ways we can play it strategy wise this weekend but track position for lights out on Sunday will be important, even with the overtaking opportunities the longest straight on the calendar offers.

“There’s always an element of unpredictability at street circuits so I’m ready to take advantage of any opportunities that come my way. Whilst Monaco wasn’t quite what I wanted it to be, I’m feeling confident that we can keep pushing ahead and make the most of this weekend. Well done Baku!”