Daniel Ricciardo shares what worried him about first AlphaTauri race last weekend

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Daniel Ricciardo has reflected on his first race for AlphaTauri and the worries he still has despite being an F1 veteran.

Ricciardo was speaking to the media, via ESPN, ahead of his second race for the team in Spa this weekend.

He made a dramatic return to the sport last weekend at the Hungarian Grand Prix with Red Bull’s sister team.

The Australian driver was able to make the switch from test driver to racing driver admirably.

He out-qualified teammate Yuki Tsunoda in Hungary which was impressive given his limited running time in the car.

Unfortunately, the race didn’t start as planned and Ricciardo was immediately on the back foot in his AlphaTauri.

His teammate Tsunoda was hit by Zhou Guanyu, causing him to collide with Esteban Ocon’s Alpine.

The resulting shunt saw both Alpines retire, but Ricciardo had to take evading action to remain in the race.

He fell to the bottom of the grid and despite finishing 13^th would have potentially challenged for the points were it not for his disrupted start.

Ricciardo reflects on first AlphaTauri race

Speaking about last weekend’s action, Ricciardo said: “I know the sport well enough not to assume every time now I’m going to be quicker. I know there is still going to be more for me to learn.

“I think the weekend as a whole went well, on Monday I was pretty knackered as well. I was very low-key, I just reflected on it, yes I was happy with my performance, but I was happy about the way I was going racing again.

“Obviously I’m very results-driven, but I felt like I had done everything I needed to.

“In the end, whatever you call it, a bit of bad luck at Turn 1 or whatever, it meant 13th. But I was still happy with everything that I put into the weekend.

“The support I got from the team, that’s also an unknown, how they’re going to react and respond to a new driver.

“A week ago they didn’t know I was going to be driving the car. Also, the spotlight is on the team. I think everyone handled it well.”

Ricciardo will hope Sunday’s race in Spa goes better for himself and the AlphaTauri team.

They’re currently bottom of the Constructors’ Championship, with Tsunoda scoring both of their points so far.

The Japanese driver has been unlucky not to pick up more points, but alongside Ricciardo, they’ve now got a better chance of lifting themselves above Haas and Alfa Romeo.