Daniel Ricciardo ended Qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix pleased to have been able to drive on the limit with the Scuderia AlphaTauri.
The Australian returned to the F1 grid this weekend in place of Nyck de Vries and immediately made an impact.
He was 13th fastest in qualifying, four spots better than team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, despite a lack of experience in the AT04.
Ricciardo has cut a reinvigorated figure in the paddock this weekend, contrasting sharply with the man who seemingly left the sport at the end of 2022.
That has translated into a more laid-back approach off track; while on it, he has quickly adapted to his new surroundings.
“Of course, coming into the weekend, I know there would be a bit of a hill to climb,” Ricciardo said.
“I was trying not to get caught up on how I go this weekend, but of course, I’m a race car driver, so I’m always going to expect something out of myself.
“But truthfully, I was really trying to remove as much of that as I could.
“Jumping in the car and qualifying, I felt actually really relaxed and just – not to take it lightly – but just happy to be back, and happy to be able to push the car on the limit again.
“This is something that I obviously didn’t always have the last year or two, and that’s why I think the time off was needed for me.”
What was expected to be at least a 12-month sabbatical proved to be little more than seven as Red Bull thrust him back into action.
As a result, there is much that needs to be learned.
“I’ve done probably only, like, maybe an eight-lap run or something at the moment,” Ricciardo said of his long runs during practice.
“I think tomorrow, there’s going to be a lot of things for me to learn in terms of tyre management, but also the car, with fuel, as the tyres go off.
“I think I’ll start to probably discover a bit more about the car and obviously then in those conditions the weaknesses.
“So I think there’ll probably be laps where I’m not doing too great, but then there’ll be laps that I’m doing better because I’m learning as I go.
“I don’t want to say that negatively, but inevitably this is going to be still a handful of things to pick up on. Hopefully, I can be a fast learner!
“If we find our way into the points, then that would be huge,” he added.
“Obviously, as a team, we need to get points, but it’s really just making sure that I’m on top of the car and one with the car – then that’s the first box having been ticked.”
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