Frustrated Ricciardo on back foot after missing FP2

Daniel Ricciardo remains confident Red Bull can bounce back before qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix despite missing a full 90mins of track time in FP2 due to technical problems.

After a winter hampered by occasional issues on the RB11, Ricciardo's home event would get off to a bad start as he struggled to 10th fastest in the first session before missing the second altogether as the team completed a change of power unit.

Though the Australian remains optimistic that he will be able to make up ground in time for qualifying, he admits it is frustrating to be playing catch up already.

"We had an engine change," he said. "We had some issues this morning and we just didn't get enough time to get it sorted for P2, so instead of rushing it we thought we'd fix it properly and get back out tomorrow. We have some stuff going on and it is pretty complex, but basically it is to do with the ICE.

"I hold a lot of confidence that it will [be ready for qualifying]. It would be nice to get more laps in today but it is definitely too early in the weekend to be down, so we will pick ourselves up tomorrow."

For Ricciardo, being sidelined for FP2 was a particular disappointment as it stopped him from getting out in front of his fans.

"The whole week has been a bit of a tease," he said. "We have talked about racing a lot and today was my chance to do a few more laps

"I am more and more anxious to drive... I have ants in my pants! So it's just a bit more frustrating. It is a small set-back but I think we can get our stuff together tomorrow morning in free practice three and still have a strong qualifying. "