The Australian is still trying to feel comfortable at McLaren after his winter switch from Renault and a shortened pre-season test after a difficult first race this year.
While Ricciardo has scored three points, he has yet to finish in the top five this season with his team-mate Lando Norris, who was on the podium in Imola.
Ricciardo suffered a shock elimination in the first quarter of the first quarter of Portugal’s first Grand Prix last weekend but rebounded sharply to ninth place in the race to take McLaren’s steak with two points.
“After three races I would say that it is still a little more difficult than I expected,” admitted Ricciardo after the race in Portugal. “But when I said that in another race I understood a lot of things in the car.
“Back then, when I might want to push a little more and where I couldn’t. What I need to get that feeling and confidence. Some updates will surely help.
“But in the mere establishment there are some things that we can do better, to maybe help or suit me. We’ll try that in Barcelona. “
On the subject of matching items
Ricciardo revealed a change in his driving style that he had tried out in the simulator to unlock more power in Portimao, and he hopes that some setup experiments could further support his offering in order to take full advantage of the car’s features while waiting for updates.
“There were certainly moments in the race when I showed some confidence and there were some flashes of good speed, good pace and management,” explained Ricciardo.
“But there are also bugs, so let’s make some additional comments about the feedback. I feel like I took a step forward today to understand a little more what I want in the car. I feel that many of the errors were caused by the same or the same limitation.
On the subject of matching items
“I don’t think that means waiting for an update. I think there will be something about the car that we could just change the setup on to help the areas that I am having trouble with.
“Maybe we can try a few things and Barcelona. I’m actually optimistic that just setting up my cause can be of a little help while we wait for some updates.”
Meanwhile, Ricciardo hopes that familiarity with Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya will help him pace much faster at the Spanish GP.
“Barcelona will be a little easier, maybe more like Bahrain, where I got up to speed a little faster,” he added.
“It’s a track we’re familiar with. Let’s say I’m not expecting anything, but I hope it should get a little easier and I can show real speed. “
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