Daniel Ricciardo completed his final day of pre-season testing before the 2017 Formula 1 Season gets underway in his homeland in two weeks time, and felt it was a good way to end by completing 128 laps of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Thursday.
Ricciardo hands over the RB13 to Red Bull Racing team-mate Max Verstappen for the final day of the test, but the Australian felt having a trouble-free day was extremely important as it allowed the team to work through its programme and gather a lot of data to work through before the start of the season.
“We did almost 130 laps with no issues, so that was positive,” said Ricciardo. “For me, today was pretty good. The race sim was OK, it was good for me to get the laps in, to put myself through it physically. You do feel it, it is definitely more physical, but I think I pulled up well and I’m pretty happy about that.
“In terms of our performance, I would say on day one of this week’s test we looked competitive, within a couple of tenths, but today it was maybe a little more. I do think our true pace is closer though.
“We have a bit to learn still, but I think Melbourne will be another story and I think we’ll see a bit more on both the power and aero side. I think we’ll be competitive.”
