Resurgent Daniel Ricciardo stuns the peloton in Miami with a result even the Australian himself couldn’t believe

Daniel Ricciardo put in an impressive performance at the Miami Grand Prix, posting the fourth fastest time in qualifying for Saturday’s sprint race.

This result marks his best qualifying session of the season, with a significant improvement behind the wheel of his VCARB vehicle.

Ricciardo finished ahead of the Mercedes, all of the McLarens and a Ferrari, placing higher than teammate Yuki Tsunoda who finished 15th.

Max Verstappen, the world champion, took pole position for Sunday’s sprint race.

The only drivers faster than Ricciardo were Verstappen, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez.

Ricciardo also finished ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, with Tsunoda in 15th place.

Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell did not qualify for Q3.

Australian F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo surprised the field with a fourth place in qualifying at the Miami GP

Ricciardo beat a host of big names to earn his place on the second row and even said he was shocked by the result

F1 commentator Martin Brundle praised Ricciardo’s performance, considering it a significant demonstration of his talent.

“What a performance from Daniel Ricciardo, he finally shows us what he is capable of,” he said.

It was a result that shocked even Ricciardo himself.

“I know it’s in me, but did I expect to start on the second row? Probably not that good,” he said.

“I felt really good in SQ2 and I knew this lap would be enough for SQ3. I think at that point I was P5 and in my head I was thinking “P5 would be really good for SQ3” and then we got P4.

“It was wild because the laps were good, but it’s difficult to be really clean here, it was a difficult track, and in this intermediate sector it’s difficult to do things well. Both rounds I hugged the wall, the first one was a success, it was pretty big.

“I was definitely pushing. It was really good. I’m very proud of what I did today, but the team has also made improvements over the last few races.

“I had the chassis changed at the last race in China and we had a new floor here, so it really feels like a change.”

Changes to Ricciardo’s VCARB vehicle, including new chassis, restore Australian’s confidence

Now that Ricciardo has earned a place on the second row, he will hope to finish strong and take home a “bag of points”.

The Australian driver now hopes to take advantage of this and compete with the best drivers for a podium.

‘Certainly. I can dream of anything,” Ricciardo said.

“It’s so nice to start forward. Even from the perspective of being outside of that middle group, it’s normally a bit of chaos.

“I hope you start with the leaders, it’s a short race so I hope to do enough with them and finish with a big bag of points.”

Ricciardo showed steady improvement, surpassing Tsunoda in China and finishing in the top 10 before an incident with Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin.

Ricciardo aims to compete closely with the frontrunners in the next race, aiming for the best points. Despite his pole position, Verstappen expressed surprise at his performance due to several issues he encountered.