MONTMELO, Spain -- After setting a new Circuit de Catalunya track record on Wednesday Daniel Ricciardo predicted Red Bull will be hot on the heels of Mercedes and Ferrari at the Australian Grand Prix.
Ricciardo's return to the RB14 this week was productive -- he completed 165 laps and set a 1:18.047, putting him 0.3s ahead of Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, albeit having used a softer Pirelli tyre. Red Bull started 2017 with a sizeable deficit to Mercedes and Ferrari, but Ricciardo does not expect that to be the case this year.
Asked if he feels confident he can challenge for a podium at his home race, the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 25, he said: "I think that, looking at it now, we are close.