"Impossible" to predict new season, says Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo believes it is "impossible to make accurate predictions" following the conclusion of pre-season testing in Barcelona, as the Aussie prepares for his debut Formula 1 season at Renault.

Ricciardo made a shock announcement during the summer break last season, with the former Toro Rosso man switching from Red Bull Racing to Renault for the 2019 campaign.

During testing, the Renault side completed 961 laps and Ricciardo was responsible for 452 of those and he was happy with the amount of progress that had been made by the French works team.

"It's been a pretty good week and we've done a decent amount of laps with some consistent running," Ricciardo said, as sourced by the Checkered Flag.

Many saw Ricciardo's switch to Renault as a downgrade, with his former team finishing a place above his new side last season. But Ricciardo wanted a new challenge - one where he wouldn't be playing second fiddle to Max Verstappen.

Ricciardo is trying to remain grounded with his expectations ahead of the 2019 season.

"It will take some time to catch the front teams but that is not what we expected to happen at winter testing and we are very realistic about that," the Aussie continued.