Daniel Ricciardo says he will on🐼ly grow stronger🎃 following the “most intense and challenging” Formula 1 season of his career so far.

The Red Bull driver emerged as an early contender after winning two of the opening six rounds of 2018 but a string of reliability-related issues plagued the second half of h𒈔is campaign and resulted in him slipping to sixth in the championship standings.

Ricciardo ended his Red Bull tenure with a fourth-place fin𝐆ish in the season-en🌼ding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, ahead of his surprise switch to Renault next season.

Asked if he found 2018 one of the hardest of his career in a Red Bull ♔Q&A, Ricciardo replied: “One hundred per c꧃ent yes. Absolutely.

“Even purely o🦹n the results, but then with everything else on top of that.

“There’s the contract 𓄧stuff, the high of Monaco, ꩵthe low of the DNFs - it’s been by far the most intense and challenging season I’ve ever experienced.

“Mentally it’s tested me, but I feel it’s only going to make me stronger down t✤h𒀰e track.”

Ricciardo singled out his remarkable charge to victory in China as being a perfect example of summing up hisဣ “rollercoaster” of a season.

“I t𒉰hink it sums up the rollercoaster the year as been,” Ricciardo explained.

“All the highs and lows, frustration and joy rolled into one. I remember on the podium on Sunday I was holding in a lot of my emotion because it just play☂s with you. It does.

“But then,🅷 to come out of that weekend, I wasn𒁏’t just proud of what I’d achieved, I was very proud of the team and proud of everyone who helped me get to that point on Sunday afternoon.

“Also, I heard that the move to t🍸ake the lead of the race was voted overtake of the year, or something like that. So that’s pretty cool. Big weekend for sure.”