Ricciardo reacts after AlphaTauri F1 return at COTA

Daniel Ricciardo has admitted he endured a difficult first day back behind the wheel following his hand injury earlier this season.

Ricciardo missed the last five Grands Prix after suffering a metacarpal fracture during practice at Zandvoort.

However, the Australian was reunited with AlphaTauri at the Circuit of the Americas for the US Grand Prix, but was thrown into an F1 Sprint weekend with only one hour of practice to get up to speed.

Ricciardo qualified in 15th place while team-mate Yuki Tsunoda narrowly missed out on a spot in Q3.

“It's hard with one session, you've got to set it up and what it is for quali, is what it is [for the weekend],” Ricciardo said.

“There's a few things for sure I would've liked to have got out of the car but it's hard to know how much we can do in an hour and then go straight into qualifying.

“But I'd love more, I feel like we can give more.

“There was nothing else holding me back today. It was trying to find the feeling in the car and the set up. As the track started the ramp up, we started to plateau a little bit.

“You can always do a little bit more, now after the fact it's like 'we could've gone in this direction'.”

With another qualifying session and a sprint race preceding the Grand Prix, Ricciardo has eyed up the extra opportunities to snatch a strong result during the weekend.

“I wish I wasn't in 15th but it's still nice to be back behind the wheel,” he said. “Result to the side, it's been an enjoyable day.

“I think that's where it's hard with this format, you can't do anything overnight.

“You've just go to hope the wind changes and the car feels different. I think it [the wind] actually is changing [for Saturday], the direction, so that plays a role.

“There's things I can keep improving and a bit to work on with the car set up.”