{"id":3432,"date":"2018-03-08T11:37:24","date_gmt":"2018-03-08T16:37:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=3432"},"modified":"2018-03-08T11:43:19","modified_gmt":"2018-03-08T16:43:19","slug":"formula-1-testing-ricciardo-confident-red-bull-can-challenge-mercedes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2018\/03\/08\/formula-1-testing-ricciardo-confident-red-bull-can-challenge-mercedes\/","title":{"rendered":"Formula 1 Testing – Daniel Ricciardo Confident Red Bull Can Challenge Mercedes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Daniel Ricciardo<\/strong> topped the time charts on the second day of the second pre-season test at Barcelona<\/strong>, Spain. The Australian was at the wheel of the RB14 the whole day. This is Ricciardo’s penultimate day of testing before he heads to his home Grand Prix, the Australian GP<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Daniel Ricciardo Confident Red Bull Can Challenge Mercedes<\/h1>\n

Mercedes<\/strong> has dominated the V6 Turbo-Hybrid Engine era. Since 2014, the Silver Arrows has collected four consecutive constructors’ and drivers’ titles. All the other teams have tried their hardest to compete with the class-leading team. Every year it has been getting closer.<\/p>\n

Ferrari<\/strong> laid down the gauntlet early in 2017. But after the summer break their challenge evaporated. Lewis Hamilton<\/strong> and Mercedes<\/strong> continued their title-winning spree. Red Bull Racing seemed to close the gap to the top 2 teams as the season came to an end. Max Verstappen<\/strong> racked up two wins in the last six races of the season. This set the tone for the Milton Keynes<\/strong>-based team for 2018. Red Bull has had a good run in the pre-season tests, not withstanding small niggles here and there.<\/p>\n

Ricciardo Confident<\/h2>\n
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A confident Ricciardo said:\u201cWe are getting there. The Mercs still look pretty quick. I don\u2019t believe that they are on the <\/em>hypersofts. I think Lewis might have been on the ultra, from what I heard. Maybe [Valtteri] Bottas as well. I am not sure. I think a few tenths is in the <\/em>tyre. And I guess their qualifying <\/em>mode, when they decided to use it, will probably be a bit more than ours as well.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI think that they still have a bit more on the rest, but it is not too bad. We are looking pretty good. Not really sure about Ferrari at the moment, but we are in a decent place. We made some good changes to the car today, so I think we are better than we were 12 months ago, let\u2019s say that much.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI feel the balance is similar to how it is last year, but I feel where our car was good last year I feel we\u2019ve made that even better, so our strengths have become stronger. The last sector, traction, things like this, the car feels quite strong, so this is a good base for now.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe will still work on a few weaknesses but generally it does not feel too bad. Mercedes are still quick, if everything was equal right now they still have a little bit <\/em>on the rest, but I don\u2019t think it is too big. So it seems positive.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI think <\/em>that, looking at it now we are close. I still don\u2019t know where Ferrari are, I\u2019m quite confident Mercedes are probably just in front of us but Ferrari I\u2019m not sure. But I think we\u2019re going to be much closer than last year.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Ricciardo and Red Bull will hope the good performance at testing translates into results when the season starts. The team had a slow start to 2017 and was further set behind with reliability issues. With two of the best young drivers on the grid, Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo, a fast RB14 could see them challenge for both titles.<\/p>\n

Second Pre-Season Day 2 Testing Report: https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2018\/03\/08\/formula-1-testin\u2026-charts-on-day-2\/<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

MAIN PHOTO:<\/strong>
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>