Helmut Marko has given his first assessment over Daniel Ricciardo's Formula 1 return at the Hungarian Grand Prix. After the British GP - and successful Pirelli tyre test - Marko relieved Nyck de Vries of his AlphaTauri seat, handing Ricciardo a lifeline in Grand Prix racing. Friday at the Hungaroring was the first time the eight-time Grand Prix was behind the wheel of the car on-track, but the first session was an effective washout thanks to wet weather. Dry running followed in second practice, with Ricciardo taking the 14th fastest time ahead of the likes of Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Sergio Perez. But he was about four-tenths and 10 places behind teammate Yuki Tsunoda, as Marko assessed his return.
Marko's Ricciardo verdict
"He did okay," Marko told Motorsport Magazin. "In the long runs, he was closer [to Tsunoda] but in the short runs, it was still lacking a bit." The second practice was an unusual session with many established runners, such as Verstappen and Hamilton well down the order while the likes of Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly enjoyed strong runs. "In the long run, we were clearly the fastest, it was very encouraging but it was not as convincing as it normally is. "On a single lap, we still have to improve some thing and we were not fast enough, we have to fight for it more. "We have another practice session, and I hope we can solve our problems there."
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