Eager Ricciardo sets lofty AlphaTauri target

A "hungry" Daniel Ricciardo has challenged AlphaTauri to aim for a top six spot in Mexico City Grand Prix qualifying after an impressive Friday.

In his first normal Grand Prix weekend back from injury, Ricciardo set the sixth-quickest time in Free Practice 2 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez - faster than Lewis Hamilton and only behind the two Red Bulls, Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc and Valtteri Bottas's Alfa Romeo.

The team is currently last in the Constructors' Championship on 10 points but has shown flashes of improvement of late - with an eager Ricciardo keen for the team to back up its strong practice form with a standout result heading into the Grand Prix on Sunday.

Ricciardo beaming after strong Friday

"I was certainly pretty hungry to get going after Austin with some of the things that we discovered making me want to kind of just get back on track to prove that we do have some pace," Ricciardo explained to F1TV.

"It was fun and I do enjoy this place. The car was solid and we made good progress with a few little things with the set-up.

"We're in a good place, but it is very close. We were P6 in the afternoon which is great, but also in front it is not too big a gap. It is just about putting it together [in qualifying].

"We started with a different set-up and there were things that if it wasn't a Sprint weekend [in Austin], we would have tried on the car and we were able to try that and from the get go, I was comfortable, and then we just chipped away at it.

"I'm very, very hungry and motivated.

"I can't sit here and predict where we will be [in qualifying] because who knows with what other teams might do with fuel or engine modes, but I know what I felt in the car.

"It was good and I believe that it is a top 10 car, top six would be nice, so we'll try to keep that going. It was a good day and it gives me confidence."