Just twelve races into his Renault career, some are already wondering if the Australian will feature in what is expected to be an enthralling game of driver musical chairs in the coming months.

Other than a return to Red Bull, Ricciardo has been linked with Ferrari should, former teammate, Sebastian Vettel opt to call it a day.

There is no denying that Renault has struggled, and appears a shadow of the French team of old, these days seemingly more interested in the rules intended to level the playing field instead of leading the way in terms of innovation.

Coming from a 'can do' team like Red Bull, Ricciardo believes it is the team mentality that is compromising Renault's efforts.

"From day one, when I walked in there were already quite a few things already in place, from an engineering point of view and the structure of personnel and meetings," said Ricciardo of his old team, according to Motorsport Week. "There was analysis of everything, tyre analysis, chassis development, all this.

"But I'd say that the big thing I probably felt was when I joined Red Bull, they were already winners," he added. "I noticed when I came here (to Renault) there was a bit of a lack of confidence because they had not won in a long time.

"It is not arrogance," he insists, "just in the team there is a certain level of confidence or pride, which I didn't feel was at Red Bull's level. For good reason. But we are trying to get that going."

Currently sixth, and under pressure from Alfa Romeo and Racing Point, Ricciardo says that while it has been a difficult start to the season, there have been some moments that offered promise.

"In Canada that was a moment I actually thought things had really changed," said the Australian, who qualified fourth and went on to finish sixth, just ahead of his teammate. "We qualified fourth and everyone was happy, but it wasn't like we'd won the world title. It was like, alright we belong here now, and this is... so there was a really switch. That is half the battle with anything.

"As a driver as well, we are all talented at this level, but it is like that mentality, do you have what it takes to really believe that you can do it.

"It is the same with the team, mechanics, engineers, if they've got that mentality to really believe they can make the step, then that's half the battle. That's the big thing I've seen, which is positive."