Australian Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo says he is "still on a high" after a successful outing in his home grand prix two weekends ago.
Ricciardo scored his first points of the season in Melbourne at the Australian Grand Prix, bringing his McLaren home in sixth, one place behind his teammate.
After a difficult start to the season — with COVID-19 ruling him out of testing, and car issues costing him any chance of finishing in the points in the opening two races — the Australian finally looked settled last time out.
This weekend's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Italy offers Ricciardo another chance to score points on a track where he has had success in the past.
Ricciardo finished third around the famous Imola track in 2020, driving for Renault, and followed that with a sixth-place finish in 2021 in his second race for McLaren.
Like the street track in Melbourne, Imola is a fast and flowing circuit that is expected to benefit McLaren, which has a car that is one of the best on the grid through faster corners.
"I'm still on a high after a strong result in front of an incredible home crowd in Melbourne. So, hopefully, we can keep the momentum going as we head to Imola," Ricciardo said.
"Last year we got a nice haul of points in Imola, and I am hoping we can get some more this year."
Sprint qualifying returns this weekend, with a 100km mini-race on Saturday to decide the starting grid for Sunday's grand prix.
The top eight drivers will score points in sprint qualifying this year, as opposed to only the top three during the 2021 season.
Solid finishes on both Saturday and Sunday could bring McLaren back into the battle in the constructors' championship.
"With the sprint format returning, anything is possible. So, we've got to get our heads down, keep going with the improvements and extract as much as we can from the car," Ricciardo said.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc goes into the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix as the championship leader, with two victories and a second from the opening three races.
Reigning world champion Max Verstappen will be hoping to get his title defence back on track, after failing to finish in Melbourne.
At present, Verstappen sits sixth in the championship, with one race win and two retirements this season.
