Ricciardo taking Renault 'to the next level'

Daniel Ricciardo has set sights on taking Renault "to the next level" in 2019 after ditching Red Bull following a decade under the team's umbrella. Ricciardo will partner Nico Hulkenberg next year as the French squad look to build on their fourth-place finish in 2018's championship.

Hulkenberg took 'best of the rest' honours by finishing seventh in the drivers' standings, albeit 101 points adrift of sixth-placed Ricciardo, who won in China and Monaco but failed to take to the podium in another race all year in a campaign marred by eight DNFs.

Renault are confident that their power unit, oft maligned by Red Bull over recent years, will be a match to Mercedes and Ferrari in 2019, while Ricciardo's former employers hope that switching to Honda power will help them take a renewed fight to F1's top two.

After a statement signing of the Australian, Renault believe that they can be race-winners in 2020 and Ricciardo says part of his role is to help improve the whole Enstone outfit.

Ricciardo said: "Nico's experienced and he's been around and I want to expect myself to become part of that team very quickly, have a presence in the team and be another source of push, fire and motivation.

"I'm expecting to carry good work ethic and to bring the people around us to build on what they have. The driving I will always try to keep improving, but really try to figure out the best way to bring the team to the next level."

Hulkenberg's best result in 2018 was a fifth-place finish in Germany and he remains without a podium in his 158-entry F1 career.

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