Daniel Ricciardo: Patience paid off for McLaren at Singapore Grand Prix

Ricciardo scored his first top-five finish of the 2022 Formula 1 season thanks to taking advantage of a Safety Car period to climb up the F1 order to finish in fifth place behind his team-mate Lando Norris.

After starting the race in 17th position on the grid and looking out of the points until the pit stops changed everything for the Australian, who admitted he had been tempted to risk making the leap from intermediates to slicks first.

"I think we made back three places on lap one," Ricciardo told on Sky Sports F1.

"When we were 10th or just outside the points, it was then tempting to get a little desperate and try to be the hero on slicks and make up a big amount of time, but I think we were mature.

"It didn't feel right and then I think [George] Russell went on the slick quite early and it was taking him a while to get up to speed.

"So, I was like, 'Whilst we're still quicker, let's stay out,' and then [Pierre] Gasly went in and he was slower. We just said 'Let's be patient and stay out'.

"Of course, you know that if a safety car comes then that's the best-case scenario and Yuki [Tsunoda] I saw was in the barriers at 10, so that was - not for him - but a good situation for us," Ricciardo said.

"That's the good fortune but I think through our maturity, we created some of that for ourselves and then top five, somehow, someway."

The great result for McLaren means they have overcome an 18-point deficit to claim fourth place and a four-point lead over Alpine in the constructors' standings, following the retirement of both their drivers Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon on the 21st and 26th laps respectively.

The Safety Car was deployed on Lap 36 after Yuki Tsunoda's crash at Turn 10, and the timing of the Safety Car allowed both McLaren drivers to stop and lose less time in the pit lane (as the other drivers were driving at a slower speed due to the Safety Car), re-joining in fourth and fifth, where they ultimately finished.

"Jumping to the soft was more for the restart," Ricciardo added. "The track was still slick so we knew coming out under the safety car that we were going to be in a strong position.

"So, I think the mindset of the team was to lock in the position basically and try to give myself the best defence, whilst everything was a bit close, and everyone is a bit vulnerable on a restart.

"It was really just to have grip at the beginning and manage it later on.

"At first, I wasn't necessarily convinced, but after they told me the race would be a little short because of time so we would buy a few laps, I was like 'Let's go with the soft. It makes sense'," he said.