Daniel Ricciardo: “No productive runs in the afternoon”

With an ambitious vision about to Red Bull RB14 finally adorned with its final colors for 2018, Daniel Ricciardo had a solid first day in Spain for the start of winter testing in Barcelona. Author of the best time in 1’20”179 just before the mid-day break, the Australian accumulated more than 100 laps with his car equipped with engine block Renault.

A convincing statistics sheet, but for all that, the Red Bull Racing resident believes that the day was not as productive as hoped. “The morning was good when it was dry, but in the afternoon it was so cold that it was impossible to use the tires, explains Ricciardo.

With this new surface, the track is good when the temperature is good, but when it is cold, there is nothing. With the rain, it shined. We accumulated the laps to check reliability, but for performance it was difficult to get anything. »

The morning was really good, but there were no productive runs in the afternoon. We just collected data and tried to survive. It was so slippery. »

The Australian also admitted that another warmer destination during this period could be one of the solutions for the teams to find driving conditions more conducive to the development of their single-seater.

“Whether I would prefer to be in Bahrain or elsewhere: yes,” says Ricciardo about a circuit which had been visited by winter testing a few seasons ago. Work would be more productive. »

Max Verstappen will take over from Daniel Ricciardo tomorrow on the track in Catalonia, where the expected temperatures should once again not help the teams.