Australian Formula One star Daniel Ricciardo has put on a scintillating display at the Italian Grand Prix, going from the back of the grid to the brink of the podium at Monza.
Having taken a grid penalty for after power unit and gearbox changes during qualifying, Ricciardo could see the field in front of him.
He produced "some good overtakes" as he jumped up 12 spots and finished four seconds behind his third-placed former teammate, Sebastian Vettel, who himself was well behind winner and new championship leader Lewis Hamilton.
The Monza performance mirrored Ricciardo's British GP race, when he leapt from 19th on the grid to fifth at the end.
"I loved it, it was good fun," the 28-year-old said.
"Two of my favourite races this year have been starting from the back — Silverstone and then this one."
The best moment of the race was Ricciardo's final move to pass Kimi Raikkonen into fourth place.
Coming into turn one on the 41st lap, Ricciardo's engineer told him the Ferrari driver was all alone.
"He's vulnerable again. Let's get him," he said.
And get him Ricciardo did, somehow sneaking past in the tightest of corners.
"I like 'em vulnerable," Ricciardo said over the team radio.
The next hill to climb was too much and — although he admitted he "could see Seb [Vettel]", which only served to further whet his appetite for a podium finish that ultimately never came — Ricciardo said Sunday was just about as good as it gets.
"You can almost call it a perfect day. We couldn't have done much more from where we started," he said.
"Of course I wanted to be up there on the podium as it looked unreal, but I believe it will come next year.
"Today has been a really good boost for everyone and we're looking ahead to Singapore."
