Daniel Ricciardo has described the difference between the RB11’s performance in Australia and Malaysia as “night and day”.
The Australian, who managed to qualify fourth alongside Nico Rosberg, praised the improvements to the car and says the biggest change has come from the Renault power unit.
“I guess it’s always a bit more tricky in the wet,” said Ricciardo. “Nonetheless I can’t really complain, from where we are now compared to Melbourne is night and day difference.
“We’ve made the best step we can ask for in a two-week period so if we can keep building on that we’re going to be looking good in the not too distant future.”
When asked where the main gains have come from, he explained that Renault has made progress with its power unit, and whilst it’s not perfect, it’s heading in the right direction.
“The main one is through driveability and through power,” he added. “It’s just been consistent from Friday morning until now, every session we’ve done has been the same, whereas in Melbourne it was different and we would get bigger hesitations on throttle in different parts of the track. It was unpredictable where now at least, though it’s still not perfect, it’s a lot better and it’s at least consistent.”
Looking ahead to Sunday, Ricciardo reckons another wet day could play into Red Bull’s hands and spring a surprise result.
“I won’t be disappointed if it rains. In the dry I don’t think we would have been fourth today so obviously we’re a little bit more competitive in these conditions. But in saying that I think we’re close enough to the front that if we get a good start and use my mirrors for 56 laps we could do pretty well!”
