Daniel Ricciardo: Third fastest on Friday

Daniel Ricciardo says he “definitely feels more confident” in his Red Bull after setting the third fastest time on the opening day of practice for the Chinese GP.

Ricciardo ended the second session at Shanghai International Circuit just over a second slower than pacesetter Lewis Hamilton and fractionally ahead of his former team-mate Sebastian Vettel.

The Australian has been running a low downforce set up to give himself a speed boost on the track’s 1.1km back straight – the longest on the calendar – which might suggest his car will have less grip elsewhere.

Yet speaking afterwards he said that upgrades to his RB11 – which also features a “more aggressive” Renault power unit this weekend - are making a real difference.

“It was definitely a positive day for us. We did more laps and more understanding with those laps. I think on both tyres, also short and long runs we’re pretty happy,” Ricciardo said.

“We had new parts on the car; they all seem to work, so that’s good for now. I definitely feel more confident. Even my satisfaction when driving the car this afternoon: I felt the grip; I really feel the improvements that the car’s made, so that’s always nice.

“I’m positive it can be a good weekend.”

Team-mate Daniil Kvyat was sixth fastest, although the Russian’s session was cut short when a brake failure caused him to lose control and damage his car’s nose.

Ricciardo might be optimistic, yet he also voiced caution when asked whether Red Bull - who have underperformed so far this season - might be able to move closer to the front of the pack.

"Today looked good but I don’t want to jump to conclusions yet,” he added. “We look closer. I’d still think that Mercedes for sure are quicker and Ferrari as well at the moment are a small step ahead. But I think we’ve closed that step a bit.

"We seem to be a bit quicker than Williams at this stage. But they always seem to come on a bit stronger on Saturday.

"For now we seem to be the third best team and we’re trying at least to hold that."