It was his fourth time on the podium in his past five grands prix.
Lewis Hamilton had a popular win in his home grand prix, taking the chequered flag in his Mercedes 30 seconds ahead of Finnish star Valtteri Bottas who started his Williams-Mercedes from 14th on the grid, and Ricciardo, who finished just 0.08 of a second ahead of a fast-closing Jenson Button (McLaren-Mercedes).
The Duncraig driver showed great courage in keeping his Red Bull Renault on full pace, despite finishing on threadbare tyres.
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READ NOWHe had used a set of medium compound tyres ” normally good for 18 to 20 laps of the superfast Silverstone circuit ” for the final 40 laps.
The race was red-flagged on the first lap after Kimi Raikkonen had a massive high speed lose in his Ferrari, the red car hitting a crash barrier, spinning across the track and taking out the Williams of Felipe Massa, damaging a Caterham and a Marussia. It took an hour to repair the crash barrier and clear the debris.
Championship leader Nico Rosberg set the pace from the restart, but handed victory to teammate Hamilton after his Mercedes stopped with gearbox troubles at half-distance.
With Button secure in fourth place, a terrific duel ensued between Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) and Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso, the pair sometimes side-by-side at 300km/h before Vettel edged ahead to claim fifth spot.
Ricciardo’s third place kept him in third spot on the championship table, behind Rosberg and Hamilton.