Daniel Ricciardo is confident that Red Bull will be much closer to Mercedes this season as it won’t have to endure the engine troubles it did during pre-season testing last year.
He also believes Mercedes are close to the maximum and therefore finding more pace is much harder for them than it is Red Bull and other rivals.
“I’ve got faith we can close the gap,” said the Australian who was the only non-Mercedes driver to win a race – or three – in 2014.
“I would like to think that now that they [Mercedes] have caressed that pinnacle and we feel we have a lot more to gain,” he explained.
“With a strong winter, which is pretty much inevitable, we should definitely close the gap. I have faith that we can do something to close it.”
Red Bull technical chief Adrian Newey suggested that much of it would depend on what Renault can do with its engine, therefore closing the gap might be out of Red Bull’s hands.
“Can Renault and Ferrari, with their engines, get to that stage next year? I don’t know,” Newey told Sky Sports. “It’s going to be a very difficult challenge.”
