DANIEL RICCIARDO turned the airwaves blue as he broke records to take pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix.
But it will be his Red Bull team along with Mercedes who will be cursing today when they learn Ferrari have had their car declared legal by the FIA.
Ricciardo broke the track record — then proceeded to beat that mark five more times as he topped the timesheets for all six practice and qualifying sessions.
He took only the second pole of his F1 career, with Sebastian Vettel beating Lewis Hamilton to second.
Australian Ricciardo, who narrowly missed out on winning here in 2016 when his team bungled his pitstop, boomed over the radio: “F*** yes! Let’s finish this s*** tomorrow.”
He later added: “We didn’t change much on the car this weekend.
“I have just been able to build up to it and have some fun.
“I love this race and it’s a pleasure to drive. It has been awesome.”
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No one would deny the likeable star a maiden win in Monaco — but the race day will start with the bombshell that Ferrari have been cleared of any wrongdoing.
In the build-up to the most glamorous race on the circuit, Ferrari were at the centre of a storm surrounding their hybrid engine system.
Yesterday SunSport met with FIA president Jean Todt and race director Charlie Whiting to discuss the accusations of cheating.
Whiting admitted the governing body did have some concerns about Ferrari’s energy store — the device used to provide drivers with an additional power boost over a lap.
He said the matter was brought to him before the Azerbaijan Grand Prix by Mercedes’ technical director James Allison, who joined the team after three years at Ferrari.
Whiting explained: “We had some concerns in Baku that were difficult to explain and we worked through it with Ferrari.
There is something in the regulations — Article 2.6 says that it is the duty of the competitor to satisfy the FIA that their car complies at all times and they were having difficulty satisfying us.
“Here, we are now satisfied and that’s how it all went.
“The matter was exacerbated by unsubstantiated speculation that went through the paddock like wildfire.
“If we had a hard case, we would have gone to see the stewards but because it is such a complex matter, it was difficult to understand.”
Todt, who is a former Ferrari team boss, said he was satisfied with the FIA’s investigation.
And he urged the likes of Mercedes and Red Bull to lodge protests if they suspect foul play from a competitor.
He said: “If a team has some doubts, they could have made a protest. It would be much more healthy, rather than to manipulate the press to address the problem.”
Asked if he knew about the situation, Brit Hamilton said: “I keep my ear very close to the ground, for sure. I know what’s going on.”
Ricciardo’s team-mate Max Verstappen will start in last place after failing to take part in qualifying.
The Dutchman crashed out in final practice and damaged his car.
He picked up a five-place penalty for needing a new gearbox and earned a blasting from his bosses.
Verstappen has been involved in at least one incident in each of this season’s six races.
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And Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko said: “Max has to learn not always to drive flat out. This one for sure is a very unnecessary one. He needs to be more patient, judge the situations better.”
Team principal Christian Horner added: “He needs to learn from it and stop making these errors. He knows that more than anybody.”
Verstappen admitted: “This was my mistake. Here at Monaco it is very easily done compared to other tracks.”
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