Ricciardo believes in improvement next season

With the arrival of the Australian, there was plenty of expectation on Renault to close the gap on the top three teams. However, with the resurgence of McLaren and some bad form, Renault dropped down to fifth in the Constructors' Championship.

After the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi Ricciardo gave some words of encouragement over the radio. The former Red Bull driver is standing by those words.

“Putting it bluntly I’m not really a speechmaker,” Ricciardo told Autosport.

“I know I like to talk a lot, but I’m not going to say, ‘we’ll do better next year boys’ if I really don’t think we will. I’m not just going to massage their shoulders and tell them what they want to hear.

“Even in myself I know I’ll get better, so that’s one variable that I know is going to change for the better. So even that alone will improve.”

Renault will start next season with a new driver lineup, with Esteban Ocon coming in to replace Nico Hulkenberg.