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F1 Austrian Grand Prix: Ricciardo optimistic after stronger than expected start

Daniel Ricciardo says he is looking ahead to the Austrian Grand Prix with some optimism after enjoying a better start to Red Bull's 'home' race than he expected.

Though the Austrian Grand Prix venue is a Red Bull owned circuit, it has become one of the team's 'bogey' tracks having accumulated only average results since its return to the schedule in 2014.

However, Ricciardo, who ended the first day of free practice fifth fastest, was feeling more upbeat about his and the team's chances after starting the weekend off on a better footing than it did in Baku.

"We were pretty quick for what we expected here," he said. "This morning and this afternoon we didn't run that long, but we are pretty happy today. Some small improvements overnight, but we don't need to change the car too much. We know that it is not our strongest circuit, but looking at how we went today we can be quite happy."

Admitting rain could play into Red Bull's favour come Sunday, Ricciardo says he is 'confident' ahead of qualifying and the race.

"I don't think that anyone really got in a good long run today. But it is the same for everyone. We learned enough to give us confidence now for qualifying and the race."

Zdroj: crash.net