Daniel Ricciardo did his first Formula 1 qualifying yesterday. The Australian ended the day as 24th but was reasonably happy with the result: "My first qualifying session was alright but it was a bit frustrating with the weather, we couldn't do two runs so we were just limited to one but it was ok. I would like to be a little bit closer to the rest of the field but I can't try to expect too much for now, it's a big learning curve. I'm half a second off Tonio which isn't much but for a racing car driver it is quite a lot, I want more but I shouldn't really expect too much at this stage, if I can keep closing the gap then it's ok."

Ricciardo says that there is still a lot to learn though: "The F111 is actually quite good, with the option tyres the level of grip has surprised me, that's one part that will come from experience; knowing how far I can push it. In high speed corners I can still race at my speed. I think there's definitely potential and if I'm able to keep an open mind and am willing to learn; I think we will definitely move forward."

He continued: "I met the team on Wednesday and it's been a pretty deep introduction and I think it's gone quite smoothly, everyone seems really nice. With the engineers, it's hard to come into Formula 1 and start a fresh relationship in the middle of a season but I think we're doing quite well and I'm sure it gets easier from here."

For the race his goal is clear: keep close to Liuzzi. "I expect to finish the race and be competitive, if I can maybe close the gap in the race and be within a few tenths of Tonio, I think that would be a positive start and some progress. If we can get ahead of a few other cars then that would be a good result."