After a successful opening day of testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Daniel Ricciardo was pleased with the performance of McLaren and its new MCL36.

Lando Norris set a healthy number of laps during the three-day test, helping the team finish third in the mileage charts with 365 laps in total.

During the second day, Ricciardo went fastest, and despite being satisfied with the team's performance, he noted that there was still room for improvement.

"I think we're in a good spot, but there's always something to work on and improve. So, we'll give the team some data to work with and some areas of work to do [and] I'll focus on what I can keep doing better," said the Italian-Australian driver.

 

 

 

 

 

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Overall, the test was a successful start to the season for the team, with everyone at the factory contributing to the team's success.

"Overall, a pretty flawless three days for the team, a really awesome start to the season. Thanks to everyone back at [the factory] for putting the hard work in over the winter to put us in this position," Ricciardo continued.

During the wet weather test, Ricciardo was able to try out the new 18-inch wet tires. He said that it gave him and the team some valuable information for adjustment.

"It was good to get a little bit of wet running, there was quite a lot to learn from that," the 32 years old driver said. "We then got into a different program [to Thursday] where we racked up plenty of laps, which was really productive. Now it's about giving that information back to the team and trying to build on this positive start."

 

 

 

 

 

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Ricciardo worries about competitors
During the morning session, George Russell, who joined Mercedes F1, was spotted by the team's new recruit. However, Ricciardo maintained that Red Bull and Mercedes could do more in the upcoming tests.

Even though Red Bull and Mercedes have not shown any signs of improvement, Ricciardo is still focused on finding out where the team is weakest.

"In any case, still your Red Bulls, your Mercs, they haven't shown really anything yet. So we'll see what happens when that kind of opens up a little more. But for now, focusing on ourselves… just trying to figure out still where we're [weak]," he concluded. "I think I know our strengths already, so just trying to know work on the weaknesses from a driving and a set-up point of view."

The next event for the official pre-season testing is set for March 10 in Bahrain. It will be followed by the season-opening Grand Prix on March 20.