Ricciardo still holding on to 'ultimate goal' in F1

Daniel Ricciardo still believes in the target he set out for himself when he embarked on his journey in the world of motorsport: winning the F1 world championship.

The Aussie became a bona fide Grand Prix winner with Red Bull Racing but was forced to rein in his title ambitions when he switched Renault last year.

For Ricciardo, it was a lucrative move that he initially hoped would equate to taking one step back before charging two steps forward.

But Formula 1's standstill amid the coronavirus crisis has derailed everyone's plans, teams and drivers alike.

Only time will tell if Ricciardo and Renault's joint game plan has suffered a one-year delay or a permanent setback from which the 30-year-old might only recover by moving back to a top tier outfit.

• Renault journey with Ricciardo 'has much more to offer'

Regardless of what may lie ahead, the seven-time Grand Prix winner believes that his dream of winning the title is still very much alive.

"My basic target with this whole journey was not just get into F1. It was to leave a World Champion,” he told the BBC's Radio 5 Live.

"Was I excited to get to F1? Absolutely. Do I love it? Yes. I haven’t got there yet. But am I still enjoying it? Absolutely.

"But if it ended today would I be disappointed? A big part of me would be because it’s something I really believe I am good enough to achieve, so I would feel it has left smelting on the table.

“That is the ultimate goal. The day I stop believing I’m able to get that any more it is the day you’ll probably see me walk away from the sport, but I certainly still believe this can happen."

Success in F1 is never guaranteed. It's a high-powered world, strewn with pitfalls and traps, where a driver's talent is significant but ineffective without the right engineering package.

To that end, Ricciardo knows that timing in F1 is paramount.

"It’s frustrating that the sport is driven quite a lot by being in the right equipment in the right season," he explained. "But it’s what I signed up for. And that in itself is an exciting part of the sport.

"The challenge is to position yourself with the best team at that moment and when rule changes come in, it’s, like, is that still the right team to be with, or are we missing something? Do we need to try to build on what we’ve got here?

"It’s kind of like chess a lot of the time. I wish it was black and white and everyone had the same and we could go and see who was the best, but that is not how it works.

"But I do feel that the best will always find a way to make it to the top."

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