Daniel Ricciardo plays it cool over great expectations

Daniel Ricciardo has started the new season with a bang, but he’s keeping expectations low after enjoying eye-catching results in his McLaren.

Valtteri Bottas set the fastest time on the second day of pre-season testing in Bahrain while world champion teammate Lewis Hamilton said there “was no point being worried” despite spinning off the dusty Sakhir circuit.

Bottas clocked 1min 30.289sec off 58 laps in his Mercedes, 24 hours after finishing the opening day at the bottom of the time charts due to a gearbox problem that restricted him to just six laps.

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Seven-time world champion Hamilton, who was down in 10th place on Friday, was 15th on Saturday.

Only four-time champion Sebastian Vettel, in his first season with Aston Martin after leaving Ferrari, was slower.

Hamilton suffered a rare spin in the morning session before Bottas took over driving duties under the lights in the afternoon.

“It’s very gusty, as I found out into Turn 13. The rear doesn’t feel particularly great but we are trying to find the sweet spot,” Hamilton said.

“It’s day two of testing so we’re just focused on understanding the car so there is no point being worried just yet.”

For the second day in a row, Daniel Ricciardo was fastest in the morning session as he gets to know his new McLaren after making the jump from Renault at the end of last season.

After the full day’s running, the Aussie was ninth-quickest overall, but despite the promising signs so far is keen to keep a lid on expectations, fully aware he needs to test the car in cooler conditions.

Daniel Ricciardo is making his mark alongside Lando Norris.

“It’s certainly handling itself pretty well at the moment,” Ricciardo said of his new car.

“I think not to dodge the question, but I need to get one of these evening sessions under my belt because, even though we’ve been quick on the timesheets, in the day sessions, the track is 40 degrees.

“It’s not that representative of what I’m used to around here, so naturally the car is sliding and moving around so it doesn’t feel electrifying. But relative to the track, we’re obviously doing OK.

“So yeah, I think, 24 hours’ time, I’ll probably have a better understanding of really how well balanced it is. But I think both days you know, with a 180-degree wind direction change, we’ve been pretty solid so there’s certainly more positives than not at the moment.”

His arrival at Renault a couple of years ago was punctuated by technical failures, but Ricciardo has started his journey with McLaren on the right foot.

“I think it’s all gone pretty smooth,” he said. “I don’t know what could have gone better yet. Faster lap times! But no, generally, I think it’s been pretty good.

“We’ve done most runs that we planned. I think now, I do the evening session tomorrow, and that will just complete the picture.

“Obviously that (the evening) is when we race here and qualify, so that will give me probably a better understanding of where the limit of the car is in, let’s say, more optimal conditions.”

Daniel Ricciardo looks good in orange.

Pierre Gasly, in an AlphaTauri, was second fastest overall, ahead of McLaren’s Lance Stroll.

Vettel, like Hamilton, preferred to shrug off the trials of testing, insisting March 28, the date of the opening race in Bahrain, is the key performance indicator.

“Unfortunately, we did not have a very productive morning,” said Vettel. “It’s a long season (23 races) and I am sure that everything will be fine.”

Another former world champion Fernando Alonso also took to the track after two years away.

The Spaniard was 10th fastest after completing 128 laps in the Alpine car. Making it to the Gulf is an achievement in itself for the 2005 and 2006 world champion, who is competing with two titanium plates in his upper jaw following a cycling accident last month.

“He is in great shape, he is sharp,” confirmed Alpine executive director Marcin Budkowski.

With AFP