Daniel Ricciardo says he will need to be at the top of his game if he is to have the edge over new his 2019 team-mate Nico Hülkenberg after joining the German at the Renault F1 Team following his departure from Aston Martin Red Bull Racing.
The Australian has switched to the Enstone-based team after five years, seven wins, twenty-nine podiums and three pole positions with Red Bull, and he will join his new outfit with a lot of positive memories that he feels will need to help him beat Hülkenberg.
The German has yet to finish on the podium during his career despite being touted as one of the best drivers on the grid, and Ricciardo feels his record is not a true indication of the talent Hülkenberg possesses so he acknowledges that it will not be an easy feat to get the edge on his new team-mate.
Hülkenberg started his Formula 1 career with the Williams F1 Team back in 2010 and has also driven for the Sahara Force India F1 Team and Sauber F1 Team, with the former 24 Hours of Le Mans winner having joined Renault ahead of the 2017 season.
“I’ll certainly take a lot of the highs with me and take them with me as confidence moving to Renault,” said Ricciardo to Motorsport.com. “And I’ll need that as well because of Nico.
“I think that everyone who knows F1 knows his calibre. From the outside, you can think that he’s done 200 races or whatever and never had a podium, but we all know he isn’t that level of driver.
“So I know I’ll need to bring all of this, not only to beat him, but also to help fast-track the team to progress.”
