Daniel Ricciardo says he will only grow stronger following the “most intense and challenging” Fo🐬rmula 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 his campaign and resulted in him slipping to𒉰 𒐪sixth in the championship standings.

Ricciardo ended his Red Bull tenure with a fourt𝔉h-place finish in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, ahe🌄ad 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, Ric🌳ciardo replied: “One hundred per cent yes. Absolutely.

“Even purely on the resuꦆlts, but then with every🐼thing else on top of that.

“There’s the c💝onꦗtract stuff, the high of Monaco, the 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 m🐬e stronger down the track.”

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

“Iಞ think it sums up the rollercoaster the year as been,” Ricciardoཧ 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 plays with you. Iꦫt does.

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

“Also, I heard that the move to take ♔the lead of ♏the race was voted overtake of the year, or something like that. So that’s pretty cool. Big weekend for sure.”