Daniel Ricciardo feels he has been on fine form across recent races, after the Red Bull ace secured one win and another four podium finishes in the last seven grands prix.
Ricciardo currently sits third in the Constructors’ championship behind the Mercedes pairing, having scored in every race this season bar the Russian Grand Prix where contact at the first corner left him 11th at the flag.
“I've definitely felt 'on' lately, and that's not just because of Malaysia,” the Australian wrote in his latest column for the Red Bull website.
“It's sometimes hard to get a handle on a driver's form in F1 – it's not like, say, tennis, where if someone's in a groove serving or nailing their passing shots, then that's pretty obvious for the people watching.
“As a driver, you can feel like you're in a good space and the car isn't up to it, or the other way around is also true. All this year, I've felt pretty good, and that's definitely ramped up lately. I'm in a good place out of the car, feel fit, and my confidence is up.
“The car has made some great progress, the momentum has risen and there's been a good run of podiums lately. Max [Verstappen] has given the team a push too, there's no denying that.”
Despite his strong results this year, Ricciardo says he does not want to get carried away and run the risk of becoming overconfident.
“Winning again after a long drought didn't change my confidence or self-belief – with both of those things, I think they're at a level where they needed to be even before the win.
“You don't want those things to go too crazy – I think you can end up getting a bit complacent if that happens. But the win felt good and in a way, was a bit of a relief.
“My confidence has been at a solid level for a while now and that's helping me, so I won't change my approach just because of a win.
“It felt different (and pretty cool) coming to Suzuka as the guy who'd won the most recent race, but as soon as I got in the car in Japan, it was straight back to business.”
Scene at the 2016 Japanese Grand Prix
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