The Australian Grand Prix has often been a cursed one for home drivers, but despite an underwhelming start to the season, Daniel Ricciardo is confident he can find his best again.

John Smith was the last Australian to finish on the podium at Albert Park back in 1983, with Alan Jones being the last homegrown winner in 1980 in what was then a non-championship race.

Ricciardo did of course stand on the podium in 2014, only to be disqualified post-race for a regulatory breach by the team.

It is therefore not the track that, as an Australian, you want to be coming into out of form. But with finishes of 13th and 16th to open the new F1 season, Ricciardo has failed to fire so far this year.

As has been the hallmark throughout most of his career, however, Ricciardo is not low on confidence.

“It feels like it’s been a pretty slow start to the year, but it’s been two races,” Ricciardo said after the race. “I know how quickly this thing can turn around.

“There’s not too much head-scratching right now. It’s just a frustrating weekend, but it’s not that we don’t have answers. I think it’s quite clear.”

Ricciardo had been on a high after sensationally returning to the grid midway through last year after he found his love for the sport again following a tame end at McLaren.

“It’s had a long-lasting impact. I got my energy and my excitement back by pushing a few things to the side, cutting out a lot of clutter,” he told The Age.

“From that mid-point of 2022 when I basically didn’t have a job and was almost wishing the races away, wanting the season to be done with.

“I wanted to get that feeling back again, to bring out the old me. Racing and training are my priorities right now, and all of the other stuff is secondary.”

While results on the track have not come so far this season Ricciardo has learned he can still make his mark even when he’s not in the car.

“You realise with age that you have the power to change how a garage feels, how a team responds,” he said.

“We don’t just drive the car, we have the ability to alter the atmosphere in the room and that’s something I’m definitely more aware of.”

The atmosphere at Team RB has been choppy at best so far this season, with teammate Yuki Tsunoda fuming at a call to let Ricciardo past him in the opening race and almost sideswiping the Australian after the flag.

However despite voicing his displeasure at his rival’s “immaturity”, Ricciardo insists there were no long lasting ill-feelings.

“Where I’m at in my career and probably just my age… no one’s going to benefit from us having a rivalry or attention or anything like this from race one of a long season,” he said.

“Especially when the team has new personnel. Everyone’s trying to pick each other up and build themselves and the confidence, we need to help them do that as well.

“What happened at the end of the race wasn’t great, but two hours later we walked out of a meeting [and] actually put the team in a better place than it was.”