Red Bull look to have turned their fortunes around in practice for the Australian Grand Prix, as both Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo encountered no issues to complete 115 laps between them.
Reigning champion Vettel described the day – in which he was fourth quickest, just seven tenths slower than Lewis Hamilton – a “big relief” for the team.
“It was very good,” said the German after second practice. “It is a big relief, a lot of work went into this.
“Neither of us had big problems today, the cars were running and the balance felt very good.
“At the end of Friday times are not worth a lot but it is better to be closer to the top rather than somewhere lost in the back.
“In terms of speed we know there is a lot more to come but so far it feels very good.”
Team-mate Ricciardo says Friday’s running far exceeded their expectations as both completed relatively competitive lap times.
“We were probably expecting to be a bit further off,” he said.
“Hopefully the gap doesn’t get any bigger but if it stays where it is, within a second is better than expected coming here.
“I won’t get too excited but today was a really good day for us. We learned a lot.”
