Ricciardo gives home crowd something to cheer

The Red Bull Racing man drove faultlessly to climb the order after an exciting race in Melbourne, which saw the Australian running in the top three for a time after a frightening accident between Esteban Gutierrez and Fernando Alonso brought out the red flag.

His fourth place is the best finish Ricciardo has had in his home Grand Prix since his first in 2013.

Team-mate Daniil Kvyat’s race was over before it even began though. The Russian’s RB12 failed to even make the grid, breaking down as the cars formed up prior to the start, prompting the field to perform another warm-up lap while marshals removed his stricken car.

Nico Rosberg won the race Down Under, beating Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton, both of whom overcame terrible starts to see off Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari threat. The German came home third ahead of Ricciardo.