It was a welcome return to the top 10 for Daniel Ricciardo at the Austrian Grand Prix, picking up points for the third time this season.
His ninth-place finish came following an eventful race at Spielberg, with the Australian taking advantage of his competitors' retirements and time penalties.
Starting from 11th place on the grid, Ricciardo enjoyed a seemingly stress-free race, but the 33-year-old explained post-race that the windy conditions and fast-paced circuit were a challenge.
"It was certainly tricky. We don't expect it to not be tricky but it was, at times, very tricky," Ricciardo said.
"It's so hard to be consistent. Sometimes I would have half a second swings from one lap to the next.
"And then I'd say 'my tyres are dead' and then two laps later I was able to get back down to a (good) lap time.
"So it was really still very tricky, and not always easy to understand what exactly you're going to get and what's going on, but the wind can kind of affect that."
With an extra two points, the Australian now moves up to 12th in the drivers' championship, five places below his McLaren teammate Lando Norris.
Despite being pleased with his first points finish since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Ricciardo described the result as 'damage limitation'.
"Ultimately, I think it was decent to get in the points but (we) didn't have some of the strengths of yesterday's (sprint) race - couldn't quite get the car where I wanted in a few corners where I was happy yesterday," he said.
"Yeah, obviously the track also changed a bit with the rain this morning. So not sure it made life easier.
"But anyway, I think we put up a solid race. Nothing to spray champagne over but I think (it was) a bit of damage limitation on a circuit which proved tricky for us this weekend."
Charles is back on top! 💪#AustrianGP @ScuderiaFerrari pic.twitter.com/V8tv3zcDfc
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 10, 2022
Sunday also saw Ferrari's Charles Leclerc claim his third race win of 2022.
The Monegasque driver had a clear pace advantage over his main championship rival Max Verstappen and was able to hold on despite some mechanical concerns late in the race.
He was nearly joined on the podium by Carlos Sainz for a Ferrari '1-2', but the Spaniard's car malfunctioned and was consequently engulfed in flames after he attempted to overtake Verstappen for second place.
Read back: 2022 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix
Sergio Perez was also forced into retirement in Austria due to damage from his first lap collision with George Russell.
Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, scored his third consecutive top-three finish when he rounded off the podium with Leclerc and Verstappen.
