Daniel Ricciardo admits he underestimated the size of the step back he would take in joining Renault for 2019.

The Australian has had a rocky start to life with the French manufacturer, failing to make Q3 and failing to finish in any of the opening two races.

In Bahrain, he was regularly out-paced by teammate Nico Hulkenberg, revealing a list of issues he was facing post-practice and now he concedes his fresh start is far from what he expected.

"I knew it would take time, but in my heart, I just expected to jump in the car and the first lap be like sweet, we are going to be good," Ricciardo claimed as he quoted by F1i.com.

"Coming a step back as far as grip and handling, it is no secret that we are not on the pace of the car I had last year. So that is something I need to figure out again."

Also Read:

• Ricciardo felt more sorry for his fans after Australian GP disappointment
• Red Bull sees the irony in Renault failures costing Verstappen P3 in Bahrain

Putting his comments into perspective, he explained how his situation was the opposite of his promotion from Toro Rosso to Red Bull in 2014.

"Everything becomes easier, you have more grip, and it is like, oh wow the car can do this?" he said.

"So trying to come back down to figure out the best way it is the moment. For yesterday for sure and in Melbourne, I was overdriving the situation.

"A bit of patience and discipline for me, but that is cool. It is challenging in itself to learn that and figure it out. In a way that is exciting, so that is cool."

Certainly, Ricciardo will be hoping to get over the initial hurdles both with reliability and competitiveness and start making progress up the grid.