Daniel Ricciardo glad to be competitive ahead of Australian Grand Prix qualifying
Daniel Ricciardo says McLaren is confident after finding a working setup ahead of qualifying at the Australian Grand Prix.
Daniel Ricciardo during practice at the Australian Grand Prix. (McLaren Racing)
Speaking on Thursday night after the first two free practice sessions, the Australian praised the new track layout.
"It was a good day, just getting back into the groove here in Melbourne, and I enjoyed it," said Ricciardo.
"The layout has always been fun, but it now has some additional changes to it and for the most part, I like them."
Ricciardo was eighth fastest in FP1 before falling to tenth in FP2, while teammate Lando Norris rose to fifth in FP1.
"Both cars ended in the top ten in both sessions today, so hopefully it’s a sign of things to come for the weekend," said Ricciardo.
"We’re in a decent place with the car and we’ll just keep at it."
"We will try to adapt with the track in terms of changes for the rest of the weekend to stay on top of it."
"I have good confidence and hopefully it turns into better days to come.”
McLaren have been plagued by a brake issue that limited initial setup work during the F1 shakedown and testing sessions, with Ricciardo missing both events after testing positive to COVID.
The team has been in recovery mode for the first two grands prix of the 2022 season, with the Australian confident that his home race may see the team's best result yet.
“I think we found a good set-up this afternoon," he said.
"Especially the first part of the session on the medium, I was pretty happy there."
"I think with the softs, I didn’t find as much as I think we can."
"I think the first part of the [FP2] session we were competitive and I was having fun with that, and hopefully the crowd enjoyed first day of F1 back here in Melbourne."
Andrea Stella, McLaren's Executive Director, Racing, gave frank feedback about the extra confidence the team has brought to Australia.
“In terms of competitiveness, we seem to have taken a small step forward."
"We’ll have to work hard tonight to try and consolidate our position with the aim of being in contention for a position in Q3 tomorrow, and hopefully fighting for some points on Sunday.”
