Ricciardo: Red Bull less than half a second behind Mercedes

Before competing in his national Grand Prix this weekend in Melbourne, Daniel Ricciardo remains aware that Mercedes will be the team to beat this season despite the new regulations. If the stable of Milton Keynes seemed slightly behind Ferrari and the star-studded team, whether in performance or reliability, during winter testing in Barcelona (Spain), the Australian believes that the gap has narrowed between his team and the Silver Arrows.

“It would seem from the tests that we are less than half a second (from Mercedes). I don't really know how much, but it's probably less than 5 tenths, indicated Daniel Ricciardo. Our top speeds were pretty good in Barcelona. We know we're not the fastest in a straight line, but we should be closer than last year. We'll see what happens this weekend. »

Daniel Ricciardo is not worried about the reliability issues encountered on the RB13 and the Power Unit either. Renault rebadged Tag Heuer.

“There were a few hiccups during testing but nothing too bad, said the Red Bull driver. Testing has never been perfect in recent years, at least not since I've been on the team. I think this season's testing was the best for me. »