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Daniel Ricciardo says he hopes to qualify in the top eight in order to limit the damage of his 10 place grid penalty for using a fifth engine at this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix.
Ricciardo will slip towards the back of the grid due to his sanction and, having placed 17th in practice, is hoping for improvements on Saturday in order to avoid a time penalty in the race if he is unable to serve his full punishment.
"The track conditions were tricky today; I think it was a combination of low temperatures and the smooth surface which made it difficult to generate tyre temperature," explained Ricciardo.
"We didn’t manage to put it all together for the short runs and I didn’t improve on the option because of a mistake in the last corner.
"But we’ll get on top of it tomorrow and hopefully get into the top eight on the grid. We were prepared to take the penalty here, so we’ll be starting further back, but hopefully we can have some fun overtaking.
"We’ve had a tough season so far but everyone is really motivated and determined to keep pushing."
Team-mate Daniil Kvyat was 12th fastest at the Red Bull Ring.
"If we do our homework overnight, hopefully we can find some improvements for tomorrow," he said.
"Even with the penalties, we have to keep pushing as anything can happen in the race. This track is not easy for us but we will try our best."
