Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo has tipped Nico Rosberg to beat Lewis Hamilton to the drivers' title this year.
Ricciardo is currently third in the championship behind the Mercedes drivers, but is practically out of the running with a 94-point gap to championship leader Rosberg. Hamilton had been leading the championship ahead of the summer break, but lost the number one spot in Singapore after Rosberg took three consecutive victories at the last three races.
"Before the summer break when Lewis made up that deficit on Nico, I thought no one was going to touch Lewis, but Nico has come back," Ricciardo said in an interview on Sky Sports' website. "But I've got to pick one, haven't I? I'm going to throw a spanner in the works and say Rosberg [will win the title]."
Ricciardo has joined Hamilton and Rosberg on the podium at three of the last four races, but admits the atmosphere is sometimes a bit tense.
"It's awkward for me because it's so silent!" he joked. "I don't like silence too much, so I'm like trying to either talk to myself or make conversation with them, but they're happy to enjoy the awkward silence. It's quite fun!"