Daniel Ricciardo says he is targeting a championship fight this season despite an ominous pre-season for Mercedes.

Having dominated the 2014 season, Mercedes looks set to go in to the new season as the hot favourite once again after setting the pace throughout pre-season testing while also showing good reliability. However, Red Bull's potential remains unknown, with the team struggling for mileage at the final test but keen to hide some of its 2015 secrets by using a camouflage testing livery.

Ricciardo was the only driver to win a race other than Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg last season, taking victories in Canada, Hungary and Belgium. Off the back of those first three F1 victories, Ricciardo says the championship is his target this year.

"Having some success [in 2014], I'm not going to settle for anything else now," Ricciardo told the official Red Bull Racing website.

"I hope we can fight for the title. That's where my sights are set... I believe we've got the resources and good people behind us. They're hungry."

Click here for the gallery from day four of the final test

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.

Recent Posts

Formula 1 stakeholders approve major energy rule adjustments

Formula 1 has moved swiftly to address growing concerns over its 2026 regulations, with the…

9 hours ago

Wolff sounds alarm over ADUO “gamesmanship” risk

Toto Wolff isn’t raising the red flag lightly – but when it comes to Formula…

11 hours ago

‘He has not got the patience’: Steiner questions Stroll’s F1 strategy

Aston Martin’s 2026 campaign in F1 has so far been a troublesome affair, and former…

12 hours ago

Nice guys do win F1 world championships

There's an old belief in motor racing that nice guys don't win world championships. This…

14 hours ago

Palou rolls on with perfect race in Long Beach

CGR’s Alex Palou extended his scorching hot streak in the NTT IndyCar Series on Sunday…

14 hours ago

Domenicali: Antonelli the ‘fresh blood’ Formula 1 and Italy need

For Formula 1 boss Stefano Domenicali, Kimi Antonelli represents something much larger than a mercurial…

15 hours ago