Daniel Ricciardo says he seized the initiative to claim the Chinese Grand Prix in the same way he would to win the Formula One world championship if given the opportunity.
Ricciardo claimed another unlikely race victory in Shanghai, storming from sixth to first in the closing laps for Red Bull's first win of 2018. It was the Australian's sixth career win; the previous five also came in thrilling circumstances.
The result came courtesy of another of Ricciardo's trademarks, with brilliant overtakes on Mercedes pair Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. After the race he said the display should convince people of his championship pedigree.
"It's a fun way to win, for sure," Ricciardo told Sky Sports. "I really feel like, I've said a few times, just give me the chance to be in a title hunt and I really believe I will take it. I feel like I can capitalise on opportunities and I guess that was a good example even with a fat lip I am still pretty fast and pretty good on a Sunday."
Red Bull is hopeful its car is good enough to sustain a three-way fight in 2018, something many predicted after winter testing. The team endured a slow start to the season, with Ferrari and Mercedes fighting it out for the first two wins of the season.
Despite claiming the third win of the new campaign Ricciardo thinks it is still too early to know whether Red Bull has a car capable of challenging for the title.
"Obviously getting a win is nice but the performance is still... we don't really know. Obviously we had really strong pace in the second half of the race. I think once we get to Europe it will start to balance itself out but all three teams have had their moments so far this season so it's interesting, it's fun and can't hurt my position so it's a good day."