Three days of testing at the Bahrain International Circuit drew to a close on Friday with Red Bull Racing the class of the field.
However, the RB proved a surprise package on the opening day, prompting suggestions it could be a serious contender for points, or more.
Ricciardo and team boss Laurent Mekies have moved to hose down that enthusiasm and insist the Faenza-built machine will be a midfield contender in the early rounds.
“I would say I think people got excited from let’s say the outside, fans, got excited,” Ricciardo said when asked of the RB was a darkhorse.
“I think they thought we were going to be a different version of another car from the past but it’s not that, it isn’t that,
“There was the rumours and a bit of excitement it was going to be, but it’s certainly not.”
Ricciardo ended the final day’s running slowest of the 19 runners, logging 50 laps in the process.
His time on track was interrupted by an errant drain cover, which broke loose for the second time in as many days.
That saw an 80-minute red flag prior to lunch, which was cancelled in an effort to make up for lost time.
While that had an impact on Ricciardo’s running, the team was able to recover.
“There was that issue this morning on track with the drain and we were worried we wouldn’t get our race run in so, luckily, we got that in,” the 34-year-old explained.
“Did some short run stuff last night and on Day 1 and then the race sim more or less this morning, the last day, so plenty of laps.
“I think in terms of performance, yeah, we’re as expected. We’re trying to fight in that midfield group,” he added.
“There’s definitely work to do to catch the front guys, but that’s no surprise, but I think it was a pretty smooth test.
“I don’t think we leave here with any concerns or scratching our heads, I think we know where we are and we’ve got to keep working for here.”
The pecking order following testing is unclear.
Red Bull Racing and Ferrari appear the early favourites, the former thought to have an advantage of as much of a second a lap over the field.
From there, Mercedes, McLaren, and Aston Martin look next best ahead of a midfield group that contains the balance of the field, including RB.
That would mark an improvement over last year for the Italian squad, which struggled for pace in the opening rounds, but is short of the performance the opening day of testing hinted at.
“We’re trying to make the most of what we’ve got,” Ricciardo said.
“We’ve definitely developed the car from last year.
“It’s hard, because we brought updates in Abu Dhabi so we’re comparing it to a car that had fresh updates.
“If we compare it to the car the race before Abu Dhabi, it looks like we’ve made a bigger step, but it’s just an evolution of that.
“So, yeah, some gains here and there but still if we want to be sure to fight for Q3s and top 10s there’s certainly still going to be a bit more to find.
“I say that realistically, I don’t say that pessimistically, just realistically.”
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