Daniel Ricciardo says he'll be working on his physical strength during Formula 1's three-week shut down period, just to further ease his entry in race weekends in the second part of the season.
The 34-year-old Australian driver was drafted in by Red Bull at the Hungarian Grand Prix to replace the underperforming Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri.
While Ricciardo acquitted himself well, last weekend's Belgian Grand Prix at Spa provided him with a more stringent physical test, but the event also proved a challenge on the sporting front.
The rain-impacted weekend saw the Aussie confined for most of the race to the lower tier of F1 midfield where he ended his afternoon a lowly P16.
Physically, Ricciardo felt that he had held up better than expected but he'll be further strengthening his body and mind over the next few weeks.
"I want to use this time to… I say catch up in terms of a physical standpoint," the F1 returnee said after the race.
"Obviously my race fitness isn’t what all of the other drivers’ is. But probably one of the things I felt happier about was how I felt after the race.
"I actually felt a lot better than I thought I was going to feel."
©AlphaTauri
But Ricciardo noted that F1's reprise round of racing at Zandvoort at the end of the month is one that is specifically challenging physically.
"When shutdown is on, I’m just going to use that to train," he said.
"Of course, try and enjoy a little bit of a holiday, but I’ve had a holiday for six months. Zandvoort is very physical as well, it’s very hard on the neck that one, it’s fast.
"So just make sure I’m doing that. I think if I’m physically in shape and mentally and everything, it feels easier coming into the race weekend. There are less questions to be answered."
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