Ricciardo started the season with a fourth-place in Australia, from eighth on the grid after a three-place penalty for speeding under red flag conditions. In Bahrain, he recorded a non-finish after an electrical failure on the second lap. His result in the 2018 Chinese Grand Prix was much better, taking a commanding victory by almost nine seconds, after starting sixth on the grid. At the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Ricciardo was fighting for fourth with teammate Max Verstappen in the latter half of the race. His front wing made heavy contact with his teammate's rear, and the incident caused both drivers to retire. At the 2018 Spanish Grand Prix, Ricciardo finished fifth and set the track record, despite spinning under the virtual safety car. Coming into the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix, Ricciardo and Verstappen were considered favourites to win the race due to their cars superior chassis and down-force. Ricciardo topped all three practice sessions before qualifying, breaking the lap record with each session. Ricciardo managed to secure the second pole of his career at Monaco, topping every qualifying session as well and setting a new lap record again. In the race, Ricciardo managed to hold off the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel to take his first Monaco Grand Prix victory and his first Grand Prix win from pole position, despite having to manage a loss of power due to a MGU-K power output issue throughout the race.