MONTE CARLO (PRINCIPALITY OF MONACO) - Daniel Ricciardo was glancing at the sky and hoping it remained clear and dry Friday as he and the Formula One circus relaxed on the traditional "rest day" at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo was quickest in Thursday's practice ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix
The Australian, who clocked a best time in his Red Bull that was six-tenths of a second faster than nearest rival Lewis Hamilton for Mercedes during Thursday's practice, wants the track conditions to remain unchanged for Saturday's final practice and qualifying sessions.
"If it is the same again, I am confident," he said. "I feel so good in the car and I love this circuit. I really feel it's my time here and now."
The beaming Perth-born driver has not won a race since reeling off three wins during the 2014 season and would dearly relish a chance to succeed compatriot Mark Webber in triumphing in the calendar's most famous and glamorous race.
Webber won twice at the Monaco Grand Prix in 2010 and 2012 during the pomp days of the Red Bull team with four-time champion Sebastian Vettel of Germany as his team-mate.
Since then, however, Mercedes have emerged as the leading outfit with Hamilton winning two drivers' world titles and German Nico Rosberg, leader of this year's title race, claiming victory at the last three Monaco races.
That run of success in the Mediterranean principality, where and most drivers are at home and pay their taxes, has given him an opportunity to join Brazilian Ayrton Senna by claiming a fourth consecutive win in the classic contest.
Senna won six Monaco races in all, but is the only driver to have won four in a row, a record that beckons for Rosberg, whose triumphs on the street track, where his father Keke Rosberg won once for Williams in 1983, have put him in exclusive company.
Behind Senna, with six triumphs, are Briton Graham Hill and German Michael Schumacher on five each and Frenchman Alain Prost on four.
- Rosberg -
Rosberg, a keen student of motor racing history who was third fastest on Thursday, shares his rung with Britons Stirling Moss and Jackie Stewart.
Of the seven drivers with three wins or more, only Rosberg and Moss are not world champions. That, for Rosberg, is the main goal this year as he attempts to enlarge his current lead of 39 points ahead of Finn Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari, and 43 on Hamilton.
"If it had been qualifying and not practice today, then Red Bull would be on pole," said Rosberg after struggling to find the pace to match Ricciardo. "I don't think we can find six-tenths by turning up the engines. We have to do some serious homework."
He may also hope for a change in the conditions to ensure Mercedes can recapture the supreme speed and dominance that has put them on top in the constructors’ championship with 157 points, ahead of Ferrari on 109.
Red Bull are currently third on 94, thanks in part to the spectacular emergence of record-breaking Dutch teenager Max Verstappen, who won on his debut with the team in Spain, just days after promotion from Toro Rosso.
In five races this year, Ricciardo has finished fourth four times and been the damaged victim of a multiple collision in the other.
His form, coupled with the huge potential of 18-year-old Verstappen, makes them a serious threat to Mercedes continued mastery and Rosberg's record hopes.