Two years after the heartbreaking incident of a botched pit stop that saw him finish second to Lewis Hamilton, the Australian took home the championship in 2018.

Though he claims it made his victory all the more significant, that disappointment is still a lasting recollection in his mind.

“I’m just happy I won because it would have hurt me even more if the video had only been the low point of 2016 and there was no victory to come,” Ricciardo said.

“I believe it would still feel extremely painful eight years later.”

There won’t be any room for error or passing at Moanco, so qualifying this weekend will be highly anticipated.

Ricciardo suggested it heightens the emotions of delivering a qualifying lap around the streets of the Principality, considering the potential impact that could have on the race’s outcome.

“I had those many successful years here with Red Bull, and the year with Renault had a good qualifying round here, but the McLaren quails were obviously not good,” Ricciardo remarked.

“You know that if you qualify badly, the weekend is pretty much over, so there are highs and lows.”

Quali is such a strong emotion here since you can only be so hopeful on a circuit that doesn’t really allow overtaking.

“You simply get this insanely wonderful sensation when you do the lap. It’s only enjoyable.

Similar to Max from the previous year, who said, “Okay, you got pole,” after crossing the line despite perhaps striking the wall three times in the last sector.

“Yeah, no one was willing to hit the wall three times,” he thinks to himself. This pole lap is mine to earn.

He continued, “I’ve definitely already visualized some pretty high laps.”

“I genuinely feel happy, confident, and full of possibilities as I approach the weekend.

“I’m just going in with the joy to drive this track again—and not in a casual sense, but honestly, heck, I’m just glad to come out here again—because there won’t be any rewards [on Friday].

“Okay, let’s f**king turn it up a little bit, I’m sure once I’ve completed a few laps.

“After that, you’ll see the confidence start to grow and there’s a chance you could have an incredible lap on Saturday.”