he won his fifth grand prix at the first ever azerbaijan grand prix, after qualifying 10th. he finished on the podium five times in a row between spain and austria, and then three times in a row between singapore and japan. despite having maintained fourth in the drivers' championship for much of the season, retirements in three of the last four races (including the final race at abu dhabi) saw ricciardo drop down to 5th in the championship, five points behind kimi räikkönen.