- Red Bull
Newey's step back not as big as expected - Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo says Adrian Newey is still very much a part of Red Bull's F1 efforts and provides the team with its motivation to win.
Red Bull design guru Newey was due to take a step back from F1 in order to focus his attention on new projects this year, including working with Sir Ben Ainslie's sailing team. However, Ricciardo says Newey's involvement in the birth of the new RB11 has been more hands-on than planned as Red Bull has tried to overhaul Mercedes' large advantage over the winter.
"They [the team] are pushing, they're pushing a lot," he said. "I know Adrian Newey was supposed to step back a lot this year and that hasn't really been the case. He's been at most of the tests and he looks to be keeping a pretty strong interest in the car. So I think as well he definitely wants to win again. So it's nice to see that and there's a lot of motivation within the team and for the guys to get back on top. I think that's showing from everyone."
The Red Bull's weak point remains its Renault power unit, which is down on power compared to Mercedes and not yet offering the drivers the power delivery they desire.
"I think we've found a bit more power from it. We're still not getting the top speeds of the Mercs at this stage, but we seem to be making in-roads. Driveability is something we can still improve, but a lot of that is driver preference - how the torque comes in and what response you get and it can maybe vary from track to track in low-speed and high-speed, but generally we are still trying to refine the package."
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