Daniel Ricciardo makes brutally honest admission amid poor Formula One season… but Australian Grand Prix offers glimmer of hope

Daniel Ricciardo has offered hope of a turnaround in performances after admitting he was disappointed with his start to the Formula One season.

Ricciardo, 34, started the Australian Grand Prix from 18th position but climbed six places to finish 12th and was pleased with his pace during his home race.

“I felt like I had put the frustration aside for today,” Ricciardo said after the race. ‘In a way I knew that what’s done is done and I tried to make the most of today.

“It’s good that there were moments in the race where I had pace and was able to show, ‘it’s okay, I can still do some good stints there.'” It was still good to get the laps.”

Ricciardo entered the Albert Park race feeling the pressure, with Red Bull boss Helmut Marko publicly calling for better performances from the Australian.

He finished 13th in Bahrain and 16th in Jeddah, but insists he has not lost faith in his ability to rediscover his magic.

“I definitely think I can do it,” he said. “I wouldn’t say there is panic. “I would have loved this season to have started better, but we will continue to investigate.”

He added: “It’s not like we’ve changed everything and suddenly this car suits Yuki (Tsunoda) and not me. I certainly don’t feel like it’s anything like that.

‘I think we’ll find something. I thought it would have been this weekend. Maybe it’s the next thing, and if it’s not the next thing, we’ll keep going until it happens.

‘It will happen.’

Christian Horner said of Ricciardo’s form: “He’s a big kid, he’ll pick himself up.”

“F1 can be very lonely for a driver, so a little encouragement is never a bad thing.”