Daniel Ricciardo struggled with strong winds in the first two practice sessions in less-than-ideal preparation for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The Australian is under pressure to perform this weekend after suggestions that his McLaren career might be under threat. Other than at his home race in Melbourne, where he finished sixth, he has struggled for form and failed to score points in any other race so far.
McLaren chief Zak Brown said publicly that those results had not met "his or our expectations" and revealed that there are "mechanisms" in place should the two parties decide to mutually terminate their partnership. It suggests Ricciardo needs sharp improvement if his time with the team is to last beyond this season.
So a strong result in Baku this weekend would be very welcome, and would be a platform upon which he could build a better run of form. But his preparation has not been the best, after admitting he struggled with strong winds in the city during Friday's practice sessions.
"It was less tricky this evening but FP1 it was really windy," he explained after managing only the 18th and 14th fastest times in the respective sessions. "Anyone watching [must have been] thinking 'These guys are pros. Why can't they drive straight?' I was getting thrown around a lot.
"We tried a few other things this morning which we weren't particularly happy or comfortable with in the end so we put on the other stuff for FP2. It was better in the pack for now. Competitively, we are still a bit off but just kind of hanging on. [We are] Quite clear on the places to improve and whatever, so more at ease and looking forward to tomorrow."
Despite not having the smoothest of days, Ricciardo went on to say that he still felt "cool" about his chances of a strong result this weekend. "Now it is just fine-tuning," he added. "After this morning we realised we had to do some bigger stuff but much more comfortable and building up to it again in the afternoon.
"Yeah, pretty alright, it is cool. It is a little less windy tomorrow so that will make life easier for everyone. It is less predictable, especially corners with a tail wind, one lap it is good and the next it is not, depending on the gusts. This track is already challenging. [We] probably don't need 50kph gusts to throw in there as well."
