Daniel Ricciardo is well aware that he needs to work on his one-lap pace for the 2018 season after being outclassed by team-mate Max Verstappen.

The Aussie won just seven out of 13 qualifying battles against Verstappen last season with the average gap between the pair over the course of the campaign standing at three tenths.

Ricciardo, who is into the final 12 months of his Red Bull contract and assessing his future, knows that he needs to improve in the area he usually considers to be a strong point of his.

“I can’t deny that Max was better more times than not in qualifying this year – and qualifying has always been a strength of mine,” Ricciardo said.