The first taste of Formula 1 action in 2022 arrives on Wednesday (7pm AEDT) as cars take to the track for the first of three days of running at Spain’s Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

While the meeting is not an official pre-season test — instead a more casual, non-televised affair known as a ‘shakedown’ — plenty can still be learnt about the base teams and drivers are starting at this year.

Here, we take a look at the five main things to look out for during the three-day shakedown.

DANIEL RICCIARDO SETTLING IN BETTER AND QUICKER

Nothing is guaranteed, but it would be a big shock to see Daniel Ricciardo start a new season from as far behind Lando Norris as he was at the start of 2021.

In the previous era of regulations, McLaren’s car needed to be driven on a knife’s edge to extract any meaningful pace from it.

While Ricciardo had far more F1 experience than his teammate, Norris had the only experience that counted — in the McLaren cockpit.

As such, it was a tough year for Ricciardo whose style, particularly under braking, simply didn’t suit what McLaren was offering in his first year at the team.

But everything could — and should — be about to change for the Australian.

Ricciardo has had major input in the development of the 2022 challenger, which should suit him significantly more than last year’s.

What’s more is that Ricciardo said he and Norris were largely singing from the same hymn sheet when pushing the McLaren garage for certain changes.

The result should be Ricciardo settling into the season far quicker, which we should get some indication of over the next few days.

Given he still claimed a win last year at Monza — the team’s only win since 2012 — Ricciardo will still be a major threat when properly settled in.