Daniel Ricciardo admitted he was surprised to be third fastest in Belgian GP practice but thinks the result once more shows the progress Red Bull are making with their car.
The former world champions might have been downplaying expectations for both this weekend's race and the upcoming Italian GP, but Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat have hardly looked like slouches so far.
Kvyat wound up right behind his team-mate on the timesheets in second practice, suggesting that aerodynamic improvements to the front of the RB11 are working – even though their Renault engine lags behind those of their rivals on the 7.004km 'power' track.
Even so, Ricciardo, who was 0.751s slower than Nico Rosberg's pacesetting Mercedes, reckoned the Silver Arrows would pull further clear in qualifying, with Ferrari and Williams also figuring more prominently.
"I still believe Merc are too quick, they might even turn it up a bit tomorrow. Generally, I think if we stay third and fourth we can be pretty pleased," he said.
"We didn't really expect to be this far up today. We know Williams always turn it on on Saturday and Ferrari I'm sure will find a bit more."
Renault are not expected to upgrade their power unit until October's Russian GP but Ricciardo said the chassis itself is now easier to set up.
"Obviously qualifying's the one. But even if we stay top five, it definitely shows that we're really starting to understand this car a bit more," he said.
"At the start of the year, not only on the power side but also the chassis, we weren't quite getting the sweet spot.
"I'd say it's a more difficult chassis to balance this year but it seems now we're trying to get on top of it. You can see that the chassis is strong and the car's good."
Still, Ricciardo's best chance of a good result on Sunday probably depends on the weather: unlike Friday's warm and sunny conditions, rain is forecast.
"You never know here, but it sounds like it's coming towards the end of the race [but] it can change so quickly. That always plays a part," he added.