Daniel Ricciardo still believes he has room to improve and remains “hungry” for further success in Formula 1.
A few years ago, the former Red Bull driver was considered among the best on the grid, particularly after producing an overtaking masterclass to win the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai.
Now, after moving to Renault and with the rise of new talent, Ricciardo is still respected but perhaps isn’t held in quite the same regard as he once was.
Throw into that the ‘Honey Badger’ is also now part of F1’s group of drivers in their 30’s, but because drivers nowadays drive a lot less, he is still sure the best is yet to come.
“I think that’s what I like, particularly with our sport, because we don’t get to do it so often,” he said via FormulaSpy.
“If we drove a car every day, we’d probably reach our peak a lot sooner but because I haven’t drive an F1 car in three months or something, I feel like you don’t drive enough to ever really be perfect at it.”
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And it’s that continued pursuit to improve that Ricciardo also has no intention of stopping just yet.
“I think that’ll be the same, probably as long as my career goes. As long as I’m still hungry and want to get better and learning, I’d probably continue to do it,” he stated.
“It’s just finding ways and through technology and simulators and things like this, the younger kids are coming through and are gonna get better and better. It’s about finding ways to stay on top of that curve.
“I’m doing things physically off track but, just because it worked five years ago, I don’t want to just rely on it now.”
Furthermore, while it may seem further away than ever at the moment, Ricciardo is still determined to reach his ultimate goal.
“I’m just keeping it open-minded, I am hungry to win still, I haven’t got my world title yet, he continued.
“That in itself is going to drive me to find enhancements and, within the team, work a bit harder and try to be more involved with the team especially after a year now – being more comfortable with the relationships I have.
“I try to integrate that and be more efficient, not just rock up in a simulator and just go home.”
This week, Ricciardo has got his first taste of Renault’s latest creation, the RS20, during testing in Barcelona. And the Aussie has been surprised by the improvements.
“I think my second lap of the day yesterday was a 1m19.0s or something, so sub-20s very quickly,” he said.
“I think that was a bit of familiarity. Obviously, getting into the car for the second year now but it certainly did give initial good impressions.
“Getting down to that level of grip or downforce is a bit easier than what I remember, for sure, being able to use that level of grip, but I guess now when you start looking for that extra half a second, that’s when you see what the car is capable of.
“Initial thoughts were there are improvements.”