Daniel Ricciardo has claimed the RB14 has shown early promise despite a wet shakedown test at Silverstone.
In sodden conditions at Silverstone Ricciardo drove the RB14 on track for the first time in 2018; despite the limited mileage on the day he feels boosted by the encouraging signs from the car, and felt no disruption in his visibility from the halo, now a permanent fixture in 2018.
"It’s always exciting to drive the car for the first time," said Ricciardo.
"It sounds a bit different, obviously looks a bit different – actually it looks cool. It’s cold, it’s pretty miserable today at Silverstone but it’s nice to be out there. First cobwebs shaken out and I’m ready to go to Melbourne.
"It’s hard to tell from a couple of laps but the initial feeling in the car is good. I can already feel that the rear feels pretty settled, even in these poor conditions. Those are encouraging early signs.
"So far I can see fine with the halo. I’d only done a couple of installs with it before so it was pretty new today but I really didn’t notice it was there, which is pretty good. Honestly, unless there’s stuff above, I don’t see any issues at all on a flat track.
"It’s been a long day, trying to get everything going and complete the filming – but a lot better to have that here than in Barcelona."
Despite not getting to drive the car at Silverstone, Max Verstappen enjoyed what he saw with the 2018 challenger and was keen to get his first miles in the new car underway in Barcelona.
Verstappen added. "I think the car looks very aggressive and, actually, the livery I really, really like. It’s always better to drive the car of course and I can’t wait to drive the RB14 in Barcelona. I’m really looking forward to it and hopefully it will be dry."
Pre-season testing gets underway on February 26.
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