Daniel Ricciardo was upbeat in Shanghai on Friday after finishing second practice in third place, behind only Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen.
Ricciardo said that the latest updates had significantly improved the RB11.
"It was definitely a positive day for us, we did more laps and [had] more understanding with those laps," he said. "I think on both tires, also on short and long runs, we're pretty happy. New parts on the car, they all seemed to work as hoped.
"I definitely feel more confident, even my satisfaction when driving the car this afternoon. I felt the grip and I really feel the improvement, so that's always nice, to feel that as well from the driver's side, not only the lap time. I'm positive that it can be good weekend."
Regarding Ferrari's form he said: "They always seem to come on a bit stronger on Saturdays, but for now we seem to be the third best team, and we'll try at least to hold that."
