Daniel Ricciardo will carry the hopes of a nation into the Australian Formula 1 grand prix, but the Red Bull driver says he won't feel any extra pressure in his home race.
Ricciardo was still something of an unknown quantity as Red Bull's No.2 driver behind Sebastian Vettel at last year's season-opening race, but having finished third in the drivers' championship and assumed the lead driver mantle at the end of his breakout campaign he can no longer fly under the radar.
Ricciardo has been the focus of intense media interest since his arrival in Melbourne, but he maintains it will make little difference when he hits the Albert Park circuit.
"Once I'm in the car, the helmet's on... and the engine starts I could be anywhere in the world," Ricciardo said on Tuesday.
"That's when I've got a job to do and I think the pressure gets levelled out no matter where I am.
"I don't feel any more pressure than last year - that was already a pretty big step for me.
"Coming into a top team everyone was asking questions of me. Can I be up to Seb's pace? Can I get on the podium? I feel like I answered a lot of those questions.
"I think I've proved what I'm capable of and it's just a matter of hoping we've got the equipment."
Ricciardo is pleased with how his Red Bull-Renault has performed in testing, but he played down his chances of taking out Sunday's race.
Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg finished well ahead of Ricciardo in first and second place respectively in last year's championship and he believes they're still the ones to beat.
"For sure, (my car) is an improvement, but the thing is everyone improves," he said.
"It's really a question of how much have we improved and if we've improved enough to close the gap on Mercedes.
"Testing has shown us that Mercedes are still really strong, I don't want to be pessimistic at all, but they seem to be the team to beat at the moment.
"Behind them I think it's pretty close with us, Ferrari and Williams - we all look to be next in line.
"I think if we put it all together we can definitely fight for at least that last spot on the podium this weekend and try to apply as much pressure to the Mercs as possible."
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