Daniel Ricciardo has indicated his Belgian Grand Prix performance was as good as it was going to get after a deleted lap time in qualifying put him at the back of the grid.
Ricciardo started the race from the back row after having his quickest time in the first part of qualifying deleted for exceeding track limits on Friday afternoon.
The time had been good enough to see the Aussie safely through to Q2, but instead his weekend was more or less over before it had really begun.
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The Aussie would spend a majority of the race stuck in a DRS train – where several cars are all within a second of each other, all benefitting from the use of the Drag Reduction System, meaning none are able to use it to its full potential.
The Aussie would finish a handful of spots further up the field from where he started in 16th place. Teammate Yuki Tsunoda snagged his third 10th place finish of the season to score another point.
"That's the reality with qualifying (poorly) with the mistake with the lap deleted, it's so hard (to) come through the pack," he said after the race.
"I think what made it hard is I feel a lot of the cars at the back are really quick in the straights, so to overtake it's so tricky.
"We tried to set the car up to be better for the race, and give ourselves a chance at overtaking, but we really struggled. Then when you're fighting, you kill the tyres so early, so that was pretty much our race."
Further hampering Ricciardo's progress on his F1 return was a lack of dry-weather running across the weekend, as he races to get to grips with his new steed, the AlphaTauri AT03.
But Ricciardo said he was able to take valuable lessons from his Belgian Grand Prix, which he will be able to relay to the team.
"Even in clear air … I felt like we were still missing something, but I'm quite keen now to get to the truck and learn a little bit more about it and feed back some things I felt and see what we can find," he said.
"I know we don't have the quickest car on the grid but I feel like we were lacking a little today so, try to understand it a bit more."
F1 will now reset for the customary European summer break, ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, just outside Amsterdam on August 27.
But while the rest of the grid would no doubt enjoy their rest time, Ricciardo said he wished he could keep racing.
The Aussie conceded however, that the break would give him time to work on his race fitness, an area lacking slightly after eight months on the sidelines.
"I think everyone is excited for a break, other than me. I'd love to keep going," he said.
"But in saying that, I'm actually quite grateful to have two races before the break so it gives me something to work off and certainly think about.
"Even race fitness, just to know what I can keep improving on. As much as I would love to continue racing, I think the break is a chance for me to keep working behind the scenes."
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