Ricciardo - Engine has improved despite slow start

F1 News

5 April 2019 at 10:10

Daniel Ricciardo believes the Renault engine has improved despite the slow start to the new F1 season which has seen the Australian fail to complete a race.

Both Renault cars failed to complete the Bahrain Grand Prix as they both went out within 100 metres of each other. Ricciardo’s teammate, Nico Hulkenberg scored the team’s only points of the season after he finished seventh at the Australian Grand Prix last month.

Having been best of the rest in 2018, the team appear to have gone backwards but the Australian insists the power unit has improved.

Speaking to Fox Sports Australia Ricciardo said: “It is early days but so far the power unit has come… not a long way, but it is definitely improved – so that is one big aspect.

“The chassis itself, I was kind of warned a bit prior to driving the car that it did suffer a bit with ride and bumps and curbs – for sure it is an area that can be improved but I don’t think it is a million miles off.

“Already, by the sounds of it, it is quite a bit better from what it was last year, from what Nico says.”