Daniel Ricciardo 'happy' after return at Hungarian Grand Prix
The Australian, in his first race for eight months since being released by McLaren last year, admitted he was concerned about surviving the heat and sheer physicality of the Hungaroring circuit.
"But I feel like I still have a bit of energy," he said afterwards.
"I was certainly I don’t want to say worried, a word less than worried.
"This is always one of the most physical races, let alone having not done this for eight months. I thought after 30 laps I would be singing for a breath of fresh air, but I actually felt great.
"The race pace was good. It was unlucky for me at the start to drop to the back.
"When we’re a team who need to have everything to go well to get points, I knew it was impossible to get back into the top 10.
"But I'm glad I could continue the race and learn from the car. In the end, I’m happy with the race I did."
Ricciardo started 13th and fell to 18th before climbing up to finish in his grid position after 70 laps.
His Alpha Tauri team-mate Yuki Tsunoda finished 15th.
