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

Gasly held off Verstappen at Suzuka with ‘best car of my career’

The sparks were flying at Suzuka – and right in the thick of it, Pierre…

4 hours ago

Vowles calls Suzuka ‘painful’ – draws ‘line in the sand’ for Williams

The mood around Williams Racing has taken a distinctly ominous turn, as James Vowles confronts…

5 hours ago

Ferrari’s ‘good weekend’ at Suzuka blunted by key SF-26 deficit

Last weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix delivered another trophy for Ferrari’s cabinet, but team boss Fred…

6 hours ago

A milestone 15th career win for Hill in Brazil

On this day in 1996, Damon Hill took the checkered flag at the Brazilian Grand…

8 hours ago

Colapinto's management hits back after Bearman's Suzuka crash

Franco Colapinto’s management team stepped in after last Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix to defend the…

8 hours ago

Krack: First race finish for Aston Martin ‘no reason to celebrate’

An Aston Martin car finally crossed the finish in 2026, with Fernando Alonso completing the…

9 hours ago