Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel has found a “new lease of energy and life” after his move to Ferrari, former Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo believes.
The German was comprehensively beaten by Ricciardo when they raced together at Red Bull in 2014, with the Australian standing on the podium eight times, three of those being race wins, whilst Vettel failed to win a race at all.
Vettel later admitted he considered quitting before switching to Ferrari, a move which has paid off for the 28-year-old, winning three races and finishing third in the championship.
“Seb picked himself up from, by his standards, not a great 2014,” Ricciardo told the official Formula 1 website. “He found a new lease of energy and life at Ferrari, and ran with that opportunity.
“Mercedes are still the team to beat [in 2016], I’m sure of that. Ferrari are interesting. They made a big step this year, and if they make another step like that they’ll be in good shape to fight with Mercedes.”
Speaking about his own year, Ricciardo believes there are many positives to take away, despite what can be described as a troubling season for Red Bull.
“I look back with a smile. Sure it had some frustrations but there were still some positives. I feel I learned a lot. I’m still young, I feel I still have a lot to learn and achieve in the sport. Some of the harder times, I took a lot out of,” he said.
“Hopefully we can find a few more occassions to battle [at the front]. We can definitely make progress, and I definitely enjoy fighting at the front.”
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