Recharged Ricciardo can be a handful for Hamilton

 LONDON: Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo  has put Monaco misery  behind himand is hoping for another  epic battle with Lewis  Hamilton inMontreal this weekend.  Two weeks after taking a  first Formula One pole position,  only to lose out on victory for  the second race running due to  no fault of his own, the smiling  Australian returns to the scene  of his first grand prix victory in  feisty mood.  Triple world champion  Hamilton, aiming for a fifth  Canadian Grand Prix win after  also taking his first career triumph  at the Circuit Gilles Villenueve,  and his Mercedes team  mate Nico Rosberg will be  favourites again.  But Ricciardo reckons he  can be a contender, particularly  at a track where the weather  can act as a leveller.  Temperatures are forecast to  be cool with some rain.  “Now that I’ve sort of got  over Monaco I just want to get  back in the car and basically  smash it and get amongst it,”  Ricciardo said on social media.  “You’re going to see the  same intensity that you saw in  Monaco.  I plan on keeping that up and  not letting anything else get in  the way,” added the Australian,  whose 18-year-old Dutch team  mate Max Verstappen won in  Barcelona.  Renault’s latest specification  engine, which Red Bull use with  Tag Heuer branding, has provided  a good boost in horsepower  to help close the gap.  Canada has been a rollercoaster  for Ricciardo in the  past, his breakthrough win in  2014 followed by 13th last year  when Hamilton won from pole  position.  He was 15th in 2013.  Hamilton has the momentum  from Monaco and is a  renowned master of Montreal  while Rosberg, 24 points clear  at the top, will want to hit back  after two races without points.  Another win for either  would take Mercedes level with  Red Bull in the all-time lists, on  51 each, but the champions  know the pressure is on.  “The main thing we took  away (from Monaco) was the  very real threat from Red Bull,”  said team boss Toto Wolff.  “It took a bold strategy, a big  push from Lewis and an even  bigger slice of luck with Daniel’s  slow pitstop to get us that win.  “We have no breathing space  in this championship.  “Ferrari hope to add to the  pressure, after their early promise  fell off.  Monaco, with Kimi Raikkonen  retiring and Sebastian Vettel  fourth, was their worst result  of the season.  Both drivers can expect to  see the benefit of a power unit  upgrade at a circuit named after  one of the Ferrari greats but  where the Italian team have not  won for 12 years, and Raikkonen  reckons the results so far  have been deceptive.  “Certain races that we’re  pretty certain will suit us better  have been moved from the beginning  to later on in the season  and all the races that we knew  were difficult for us have been  moved to the front,” said the  2007 world champion.  “Just looking at the results  doesn’t always tell you the full  story.”—Reuters