Ricciardo "sore" as F1 return delivers "a shock to the body"

Daniel Ricciardo is confident "there are good early signs" for McLaren despite feeling sore after a full day in the MCL36.

After Lando Norris topped the order for McLaren on Wednesday after spending a full day behind the wheel, Ricciardo took over driving duties on the second day of the F1 test.

Ricciardo completed 126 laps of Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya as he registered the third-best time of the day.

“I’m a little bit sore but it was okay," said Ricciardo. "Just to get in the car again and to go through the motions again and get your body into it and all of those feelings.

"It’s only been two months. The off-season was a bit shorter because of such a late end to last season so it didn’t feel too foreign but there is always still a bit of a shock to the body.

“Not really knowing what to expect with the new cars, it was hard to gauge what feels good and what doesn’t. The car felt balanced and it gave me confidence to push quite early on, so there are good early signs.”

On a day in which the conflict between Russia and Ukraine escalated significantly, Ricciardo was asked if he would take a similar stance to Sebastian Vettel and boycott the Russian Grand Prix if it were to go ahead.

He explained: “To be honest, I’ve just heard about some of Seb’s comments from today. I don’t honestly have much to comment.

"I think, for now, it’s in the hands of F1 and the FIA and there’s nothing really to say for me now.”

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