What Renault must do to compete with top three, according to Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo thinks that Renault must develop their car quicker over the course of the season if they are to have any hope of potentially bridging the gap between themselves and the elite team trio of Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull.

Last year, Ricciardo opted to leave Red Bull in favour of Renault for the 2019 season, who are viewed as a midtable outfit. Although testing was positive for the team in testing over the past few weeks, the Australian reckons that the car needs to be evolved at the same pace as the top teams if they are to compete.

"Our main target is to finish fourth or even better this year," the Aussie told France's L'Equipe.

"The gap with the top-three is big, and it's not going to decrease overnight. It must be addressed by developing the car.

"Speaking with Nico [Hulkenberg] and understanding how the team works, I know that last year's development pace wasn't as good as they expected it to be.

"We must understand what the car needs but also make sure that the necessary evolutions are implemented as quick as possible.

"It will be a crucial factor in our ability to bridge the gap."

Ricciardo has previously said that the 2019 season will be "impossible" to predict, but he hopes the main development of the Renault car will happen over the course of the campaign.

"We still have work to do and things to improve on and that’s what we’ll focus on now," he assured.

"We are making progress but the bigger steps will happen gradually going forward. I’m heading to Melbourne feeling that I belong here and I just want to go racing now!"

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