Ricciardo: I think we can find some more

The Australian topped the timing screens at the end of FP2 and told reporters in Baku that there is more to come from the RB14, “I think we can find some more, but generally I was happy with the car"

"No big problems. I think it’ll be a close battle [on Saturday] and Sunday. As always in qualifying, I think the others will turn it up a bit more. I think we’ll probably lose out a bit more in sector one and three tomorrow. Sector two will be key for us."

"The only thing that changes is the wind, it gets quite strong at the weekend so that’ll probably make all the cars feel a bit worse. But I think it’s a good start."

"On the long run, struggled a bit on ultrasoft,” he said. “We know why and what we can do better. That gave me a few problems but then the supersoft was much more like we expected."

"Even if we don’t say qualify front row, I think we’ll still have a very strong race car. We’re still in the group of favourites. I think there are a few of us who are going to be close. I certainly feel like I’m up there. I feel like I’m driving good."

"I felt comfortable out there. That’s the important thing with a street circuit. You want that comfort. I didn’t really have any scares today. The car was well-behaved. It didn’t take any confidence away from me. There was a good relationship between myself and the car today. We’ll build on that tomorrow."

“It’s nice to be back here and be on the pace. We’ll try and keep it going for the rest of the weekend,” added Ricciardo.

On the other side of the garage, his teammate Max Verstappen endured a scrappy day which included a crash in the early third of FP1, which cost him track time and his car required patching up.

Nevertheless, the Dutchman was still good for the third fastest lap time on the day and said afterwards, “We look quick. Of course, you always want to improve and we know that in qualifying they have this power mode, so they will be even closer."

“On the other hand, we also have a bit as well. On this track, it’s a lot about confidence. If you feel really good in the car, you can pick up some lap time as well,” explained Verstappen whose day ended with a slow trip back to the pits at the end of the afternoon session with an apparent sensor problem.