Toro Rosso: Ricciardo satisfied with the progress made in free practice in Melbourne

Daniel Ricciardo believes he has started a good weekend in Melbourne for his home Grand Prix after free practice for the first race of the season in Australia.

The Toro Rosso driver was seventh in the first session and 21st in the afternoon.

His result in the afternoon was due to the changing weather conditions, but he made it clear that he has gained a lot of confidence in the first session of the season.

“This track is very different to the two circuits we have tested on this winter, but it looks positive for us,” said Ricciardo. “This morning went pretty good, very good.”

“The afternoon was a bit mixed due to the weather. You have to go on a tire, then get in and wait for it to dry a little and you had to be patient. ”

The Australian added that his afternoon session wasn't a total waste, and hinted that there is still something to get out of Toro Rosso.

“This afternoon, I did a long run and I think we can still improve the pace,” he said. “And the good thing is that we know what we need to do to achieve this.”

Jean-Eric Vergne: “It was a great feeling. Being the first driver on track this morning was something special. This morning, we were unable to complete the entire program, partly due to the rain. That made life difficult, but you know, it was really fun, I've never driven on wet tyres, which means I did almost everything that could be done today, in terms of tyres. I also did a long run, which was very useful in terms of learning the circuit and there are still a lot of little details that I need to improve on. But overall, I would say it was a positive first day and I know what I have to do tomorrow: push harder. “