Ricciardo ‘still making adjustments’ for qualifying pace

After topping the opening free practice before slipping down to third place on the times in FP2, Daniel Ricciardo remains confident he can challenge at the sharp end for the Hungarian Grand Prix despite using an older engine specification.

Following an engine issue which forced him to retire during the German Grand Prix last weekend, Ricciardo is running a slightly older engine specification compared to Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen as advised by power unit supplier Renault.

Riccardo ended Friday practice third quickest, behind timesheet-topper Sebastian Vettel for Ferrari and Verstappen, finding himself over two-tenths off the top having dominated the morning session.

The Australian driver has shrugged off the negative impact his older specification engine parts will have on his fight in Hungary and feels further single lap speed can be found with overnight set-up tweaks.

“We have got a good enough car [but] on one lap, we can still make some adjustments,” Ricciardo said. “On long runs, it’s all very close.

“I predicted the top six will be close this weekend and I think come tomorrow it will be. Seb did a good lap and we know they [Ferrari] are quick on Saturdays. There’s still a bit of time to find on one lap, but a good start.

“[The engine] is all good. It won’t stop me.

“We need to try and put ourselves on the front row, that would be perfect. Second row, I think we could still do it. But we don’t want to be on the third row. We want to be on at least the first two.”

Ricciardo controlled from the front at the last F1 round on a high downforce-dependent circuit as he claimed pole position and victory in Monaco last May. The Australian driver also clinched victory in Hungary in 2014 while he's taken further podiums in 2015 and 2016 at the track.