Friday’s two observe periods forward of the Mexico Metropolis Grand Prix gave just a few totally different groups, and drivers, some confidence forward of qualifying on Saturday.
Amongst these? Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri. Ricciardo completed the second observe session on Friday in P6, forward of Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes and simply three-tenths of a second off Max Verstappen, who topped the timing sheets.
For Ricciardo, it was a welcome change from final weekend. The AlphaTauri driver struggled in his return to the grid following harm, a return sophisticated additional by the Dash format at the USA Grand Prix.
“Because the race in Austin, I’ve been hungry to maintain going and get again within the automotive,” stated Ricciardo within the workforce’s post-practice report.
“After final week’s race, we found some issues that made me need to show that we’ve got tempo. Immediately was an excellent day. I take pleasure in this place, and the automotive was stable. From the get-go, I used to be definitely snug, and since it isn’t a Dash weekend, we’ve got extra time to strive some issues.”
Traditionally, Ricciardo has fared nicely in Mexico, and regardless of a down season a yr in the past this race was one of many few the place he captured factors, as he completed seventh within the 2022 Mexico Metropolis Grand Prix. May he return to the factors on Sunday?
The driving force is assured heading into qualifying, not less than.
“We continued to chip away and made good progress with our setup, and we seem like we’re in a great place, so I’m assured we will carry this efficiency into tomorrow,” stated Ricciardo. “The sphere is shut, and also you by no means know what different groups are doing precisely, however I do know what I felt within the automotive right now was good, and I imagine it’s a prime 10 automotive tomorrow.”