Ricciardo makes Q2 on return, braced for tough race

He did that on the first try on Saturday as Tsunoda did not make it previous the Q1 session.

“I had no concept the place to count on to be on the grid,” Ricciardo stated after the session.

“The thirteenth place in a method feels considerably irrelevant.

“In fact, my reference is Yuki for now. Watching from the surface, he is an excellent reference, as a result of not solely this yr, however already the second half of final yr, I may see with Pierre [Gasly]he was beginning to be much more aggressive.

“Whether or not I am forward or behind, I feel simply to be there may be constructive for me.”

Ricciardo initially took a yr off after two tough seasons with McLaren, the place he struggled to become familiar with the automotive.

The Australian struggled to regulate his driving type to McLaren vehicles with a pronounced sensitivity to nook entry, which led to a downward spiral in confidence and outcomes bar his shock win on the 2021 Italian Grand Prix.

Ricciardo stated he felt snug with AlphaTauri’s automotive from the primary second he drove out of the pits on Friday.

“I feel the constructive was, really earlier than the rain got here in FP1, I did just about one lap. I bought the pink flag simply earlier than the road. Already in a single lap of driving the automotive, I used to be full of a little bit of confidence.

“I wasn’t on the restrict but, however I felt prefer it was responding the way in which I used to be anticipating. Generally, I feel it is one thing I can really feel snug with.”

The eight-time race winner felt he may instantly push the AlphaTauri automotive with extra confidence.

“I knew there can be a little bit of a hill to climb,” Ricciardo stated. “I used to be making an attempt to not get caught up on how I’m going this weekend. However after all, I am a race automotive driver. So I am at all times going to count on one thing out of myself.

“Leaping within the automotive in qualifying, I felt actually relaxed, and to not take it flippantly, however simply comfortable to be again and comfortable to have the ability to push a automotive on the restrict once more.

“That is one thing that I did not at all times have the final yr or two, and that is why I feel the day without work was wanted for me.”

Ricciardo has not accomplished a race distance for the reason that 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and has not been in a position to do an extended consecutive stint of laps in his new automotive, one thing he’s sure to really feel the affect of on Sunday.

On his expectations, he stated: “It is actually exhausting. I’ve completed in all probability solely possibly an eight-lap run or one thing in the mean time.

“Even for me, I feel tomorrow there’s going to be a whole lot of issues for me to study by way of tyre administration, but additionally the automotive, with gas, because the tyres go off, I feel I am going to begin to in all probability uncover in regards to the automotive, these situations, the weaknesses.

“I feel there’ll in all probability be laps the place I am possibly not doing too nice. However then there will be laps the place I am doing higher as a result of I am studying as I’m going, in a method.

“I do not wish to say that negatively, however inevitably, there may be nonetheless going to be a handful of issues to select up on, and hopefully I could be a quick learner. If we discover our method within the factors, then that might be large.

“I feel for now, as a workforce, we have to get factors, but it surely’s actually simply ensuring that I am on prime of the automotive, at one with the automotive. That is the primary field I must tick.”