Daniel Ricciardo believes Red Bull win another Formula 1 grand prix this season as the team looks to compete with Mercedes and Ferrari.
The Australian has already claimed two victories in 2018, in China and famously in Monaco, while team-mate Max Verstappen won last time out in Austria.
It’s left Ricciardo to suggest there is more to come at circuits such as the Hungaroring, which play to Red Bull’s strengths.
“I think we will win again this year,” he asserted.
“We have a chance to win on some tracks, and some opportunities will arise, but I still don’t think we have the real pace every weekend to convince ourselves that we can be there.
“I still think we need to find a little bit to be there on more tracks, but we never showed signs of speed in Austria from Friday until Sunday,” he added.
“Sure, Mercedes had their problems, but even so we thought on pace Ferrari should have made it easy on us from everything we’d seen, and it wasn’t really the case.
“So it is still unknown, which makes it exciting.
“Hopefully the ones we expect to be quick on, we are.
“If we come fifth and sixth in Budapest we are probably going to be pretty pissed off!”
Ricciardo also admitted that while he’s technically not out of contention, the championship remains a long shot.
“We are doing pretty well considering we’ve only finished six out of nine (races),” he claimed.
“So we are doing all right, but doing all right is not enough to be there, especially because we are not dominating every race.
“We need to finish more. Two were technical and one was the incident with Max.
“I’m very likely going to have a penalty in Germany, so the odds are against us but I still don’t think it is impossible.”
Currently negotiating his future, Ricciardo revealed that nothing has yet been signed, though he has moved closer to confirming a new deal.
“Still no pen on paper,” he said.
“I’m more confident it will get done before the August break, so I don’t think you will have to wait much longer.”
One of the key areas of concern has been Red Bull’s decision to swap from Renault to Honda power for next year.
After a disastrous relationship with McLaren, the Japanese manufacturer has switched to Toro Rosso for this year.
Last month it was confirmed that Red Bull would also take up a supply of engines from next season, effectively making the squad the factory Honda team.
“I have heard the team out more than once, and they’ve kind of given me the reasons,” Ricciardo said of his conversations around the move to Honda.
“The important thing to understand for me why they have done it, is not just… it can’t just purely be on emotions, like it has gone to shit with Renault and we are just doing it because we want to change.
“They have done their homework and believe that it is a good thing, not just an emotional decision.
“They have done what they can to try and encourage me to make it happen.”
Ricciardo currently sits fourth in the drivers’ championship, three points clear of team-mate Verstappen and five behind Kimi Raikkonen.
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