Daniel Ricciardo says 'small error' led to him beaching Red Bull at Silverstone test

Daniel Ricciardo held his hands up for "pushing a little bit too hard" after making an inauspicious start to his big Red Bull test chance at Silverstone, but remains hopeful he has done enough to win the race to succeed Mark Webber at the team next season.

That mistake aside, Ricciardo appeared more than content with how the afternoon as a whole had gone - particularly as the runs he was able to complete in the RB9 were dictated by Pirelli's strict tyre-testing guidelines. "I feel good," he said. "It's still a bit of a blur, it was pretty hectic day - even yesterday going between meetings in both trucks trying to soak it all in. So I'll look back on a few things tonight and wake up tomorrow and have a better understanding of how it all went. "I think I drove to my ability and did what I could. It's a bit tricky with the circumstances - we weren't really allowed to adjust the car. Ideally you would like to make some mechanical changes and set the car up for the conditions, but it's going to be the same for all the guys and it was a good opportunity to get behind the wheel and experience two different beasts." F1's otherwise stringent in-season testing restrictions means Thursday's running represented Ricciardo's sole chance to drive the RB9 before Red Bull make their final decision over the coveted 2014 seat, with the World Champions having suggested they will announce their move by "late summer". Horner all-but confirmed to Sky Sports News on Wednesday that the race to replace Webber was now a direct battle between Ricciardo and 2007 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen. The younger contender, however, is relaxed about the situation and believes Red Bull's hierarchy won't make the decision strictly on the outcome of one half-day of testing. "I don't know. We'll see what happens," he said. "It's not my decision. I've still got the season ahead with Toro Rosso and the last few races have been better so just trying to continue like that. I think this test is something for Red Bull to look at but there's still the rest of the season which they'll observe, so I won't get too caught up in today and I'll now switch my focus back to Toro Rosso." But whatever Red Bull do ultimately decide, Ricciardo said the chance to drive the RB9 was special irrespective of the circumstances. "Whatever happens, happens," he insisted. "Obviously it was nice to get a few laps in the car. Testing is pretty limited so to get that small opportunity and to see what it's like, if I don't get the chance further down the track that was already a nice little bonus." Nonetheless, after showing decent speed in his time on track, and ahead of Vettel's run in the car on Friday, Ricciardo joked: "I'll watch Seb's times and hopefully they won't put me to shame!"