Ricciardo says seventh was the maximum for him
Daniel Ricciardo says he feels like he extracted the maximum from his Red Bull despite qualifying down in seventh place for the Australian Grand Prix.
The Red Bull driver missed all of second Friday practice after a problem with his Renault power unit, and was unable to match the pace of the leading cars in qualifying.
Despite that, the Australian said he was happy with his performance, especially given the lack of running.
"I'm pleased," said Ricciardo. "After all the practice issues I think seventh is only seventh but I think it's a good seventh.
"It's a seventh with progress, so that's nice. We are still a long way from where we want to be.
"I feel like I did a good job. I feel like there wasn't much more to get out of the car, so for that I'm pleased."
Ricciardo admitted it is unlikely he will be able to fight with Mercedes, Ferrari or Williams in tomorrow's race.
"I don't know what to expect, to be honest," he added. "Hopefully the progress we made through qualy is real and we can continue that one for the race.
"The three teams in front are going to be hard to stay with, but if we can get ahead at the start you know how it goes.
"We'll try to hang in there for a solid top ten and at least just finish and get laps and keep learning."
Teammate Daniil Kvyat qualified in 13th position.
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