F1: 5 talking points from the 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix

Spare a thought for Ricciardo

F1 Grand Prix of Brazil, Ricciardo was fast

It was a really pleasant phenomenon to find Daniel Ricciardo's name, for a change, not against another mechanical DNF but, in fact, mentioned on the fourth spot at the conclusion of the 71-lap contest.

For a driver who won two Grands Prix this year, enduring eight DNFs seems to read like a potentially thrilling storyline turning sour.

But thankfully, none of Daniel's poor luck, as seen in the past events would find the Australian at Interlagos.

Very early on in the race did Ricciardo improve on his eleventh-place start and would jump into the tenth spot at the conclusion of the opening lap.

From thereon, there would only be one direction that his Brazilian drive would take, that would be toward the front.

In fact, so impressive was the honey-badger's Brazilian effort that he all but nailed Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari during the closing stages. During the final three laps, his gap to Raikkonen's Ferrari was as scant as three-tenths of a second.