Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull
For Red Bull racing star Daniel Ricciardo, there is no use being upset over his disqualification tast year at Albert Park. Instead of looking back, Ricciardo looks into the future and says he is excited to kick off the Formula One, or F1 season in his home turf.IN PHOTO: Red Bull Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo of Australia raises his trophy as he celebrates his third placed finish in the F1 United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas November 2, 2014. REUTERS/Adrees Latif REUTERS/Adrees Latif

Red Bull Aussie driver Daniel Ricciardo is confident about heading into the 2015 Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne. After the final Formula One, or F1, pre-season test in Barcelona, Ricciardo said that he is ready to race in Melbourne where he came in second last season before he was disqualified due to a fuel consumption technicality.

Ricciardo caused a stoppage when he came into a stop at the Circuit de Catalunya after having a problem with his Energy Recovery System, or ERS, about an hour into the racing session on the final day of the third pre-season test in Spain. Despite the little catastrophe that Ricciardo suffered on the track, he still racked up 72 laps to finish as the fifth fastest driver behind Max Verstappen (Toro Rosso), Felipe Nasr (Sauber), Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) and Valterri Bottas (Williams).

“For me personally, I feel ready to race,” Ricciardo said via Motorsport.com. “We’ll be good for Melbourne.”

Ricciardo said it was tough to say which F1 team will dominate the season-opening race in Melbourne but suggested that Mercedes is still the top team that will present the biggest challenge. He added that Red Bull will also face a “close” contest between Ferrari and Williams.

About the ERS issue that Red Bull has suffered, Ricciardo asserted that it would not be that big of deal. Though he would have liked it better if Red Bull didn’t have to go through the problem, he thinks that the team’s overall performance is still better than that last season’s pre-season test.

Ricciardo and the rest of the F1 drivers will have less than a couple of weeks before the season kicks off at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia on March 13. According to the final pre-season test stat times compiled by Sky Sports, there are three F1 teams that are likely to emerge as the winners of the first grand prix of the 2015 season, namely, Mercedes, Williams and Ferrari, but Ricciardo is optimistic that Red Bull will fare well at Albert Park.

Top 10 best times for the 12-day F1 pre-season test as well as the tyre the lap was done (Driver/F1 Team/Tyre/Time)

1. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - Soft - 1:22:792

2. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes - Soft - 1:23:022

3. Valterri Bottas - Williams - Super Soft - 1:23:063

4. Felipe Massa - Williams - Super Soft - 1:23:262

5. Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari - Super Soft - 1:23:276

6. Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari - Super Soft - 1:23:469

7. Felipe Nasr - Sauber - Super Soft - 1:24:023

8. Romain Grosjean - Lotus - Super Soft - 1:24:067

9. Carlos Sainz - Toro Rosso - Super Soft - 1:24:191

10. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus - Super Soft - 1:24:200

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