RB's 2024 car not a 'different version' of RB19 – Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo has stressed that RB's 2024 car isn't a copy of "another car from the past", which many know is a reference to Red Bull's superior RB19.

It's no hidden secret that the relationship between Red Bull and their sister team has tightened, with RB having accepted as many parts from Red Bull as legally possible, in accordance with the technical regulations.

Nevertheless, there were some fears ahead of pre-season testing that RB's car would be similar to what Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez drove last year. Whilst RB performed very well in testing and have certainly made a big step, Ricciardo has confirmed to fans that the VCARB-01 is simply an "evolution" of the AT04 – the team's 2023 car.

RB strengthening their ties with Red Bull has excited a lot of people, which has resulted in a lot of the rumours that they'd suddenly be challenging for rostrums. Ricciardo is remaining cautious ahead of next weekend's season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix and believes they're in the midfield group.

'People definitely got excited'

"I got plenty of laps and feel pretty good," Ricciardo told select media including RacingNews365. "I think in terms of performance, as expected, we're trying to fight in that midfield group.

"I think there's definitely some work to do to catch the front guys, but it's no surprise. But I think it was a pretty simple test. So I don't think we leave here with any concerns or scratching our heads. I think we know where we are."

In total, RB completed 366 laps of the Bahrain International Circuit across the three days, more than the likes of Mercedes and McLaren in particular. Even over one-lap, Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda looked very decent.

Nevertheless, Ricciardo is certain more work is required to be challenging for points and has addressed the speculation linking RB's 2024 car to the RB19.

"I think people definitely got excited from let's say, from the outside, let's just say fans, fans were excited," added Ricciardo. "I think they thought it was gonna be a different version of a another car from the past, but it's not that.

"It was a bit of excitement that it was gonna be, but it's certainly not. I think we're trying to make the most of what we got. I think we've definitely developed a car from last year, it's hard because we brought updates in Abu Dhabi, so we're comparing it to the car that had fresh updates.

"If you compare it to the car for the race before Abu Dhabi, then it looks like we made the biggest step and it's just an evolution of last year. Yeah, some games here and there. But still, I think if we want to be fighting for Q3s and top 10s, I think there's certainly still going to be a bit more to find. I say that realistically, I don't say this mystically."