"I believe I can do it" says Ricciardo as he predicts Red Bull revival
Tuesday 27 January 2015 14:14, UK
Daniel Ricciardo is confident Red Bull will close the gap to Mercedes in the upcoming new F1 season and he'll challenge for the world title in his new role as unofficial team leader.
Although Mercedes have already been installed as pre-season favourites following their relentless supremacy since the advent of F1's new turbo era, Ricciardo is adamant that the Silver Arrows can be beaten when the campaign begins in his native Australia on March 15.
“I felt they got a lot out of their package last year and their scope for improvement is smaller than ours. We can make a big step. I know they can go quicker but it will probably be a smaller step than ours,” Ricciardo told Sky Sports News HQ’s Rachel Brookes.
Ricciardo was the only driver to beat the otherwise all-conquering Mercedes duo of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton last season, claiming three victories as the Australian delivered a resounding head-to-head defeat of Red Bull team-mate and reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel.
The German has subsequently departed for Ferrari, leaving Ricciardo with a near-rookie team-mate in the shape of Daniil Kvyat and very much the man most likely to beat Hamilton and Rosberg to the championship.
"I believe I can do it. With my prediction that we are going to close the gap, we should definitely be in the hunt and I’m confident l can pull it off if l get the chance,” said Ricciardo at Red Bull’s informal ‘2015 launch’ event on an artificial ski slope in Milton Keynes.
But could the 20-year-old Kvyat, generally impressive in his debut season at Toro Rosso in 2014, do to Ricciardo what Ricciardo did to Vettel’s reputation last year? The hunter has turned hunted - and Ricciardo, almost a veteran in comparison to Kvyat at the age of 25, knows it.
“I’ve been asked a few times how I feel to be the number one driver, but at the end of the day it’s the results which count and if Danny comes out and starts to win races he will be the new number one," said Ricciardo.
"I expect him to be quick. I feel like I’m young but he’s from an even younger generation and l expect him to bring a lot of things to the table – even with a lot less experience than Sebastian had. It's a new dimension and I’m looking forward to a lot of good battles.”
Ricciardo’s wariness is such that he hasn’t ruled out pulling up the shutters on sharing information with Kvyat if the Russian starts the season on the front foot. But after an abject performance in testing twelve months ago, when Red Bull completed a mere 21 laps in the first test at Jerez, Ricciardo knows that only a unified approach will propel the former world champions back to the front of the grid.
“We want to get the car as quick as possible and that means being as open as we can and telling the team everything they need to know. As the season goes on, then we’ll see, but until we are coming first and second I don’t think we are going to be keeping any secrets!”
Red Bull’s new car, the RB11, will be unveiled at Jerez on Sunday morning just before the first test of the winter begins.
The Sky Sports F1 Online team will be providing live commentary of all three winter tests, starting in Jerez on Sunday, with live updates from trackside also on Sky Sports News HQ.
