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Daniel Ricciardo still has the ambition to be a World Champion, saying he would be disappointed to walk away without a title.
The Australian driver is preparing for his second season with Renault, and potentially his last if the team are unable to improve upon their 2019 efforts and show signs that they can compete for titles again in the future.
With Ricciardo's contract expiring at the end of this year there have been rumours that he could move to Ferrari, while he himself didn't rule out a return to Red Bull.
But it's clear that any future move by the Aussie would be made with the goal of becoming World Champion.
"My basic target with this whole journey was not just to get into F1. It was to leave a World Champion," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"Was I excited to get to F1? Absolutely. Do I love it? Yes. I haven't got there yet. But am I still enjoying it? Absolutely.
"But if it ended today would I be disappointed? A big part of me would be because it's something I really believe I am good enough to achieve, so I would feel it has left smelting on the table.
"That is the ultimate goal. The day I stop believing I'm able to get that any more it is the day you'll probably see me walk away from the sport, but I certainly still believe this can happen."
The fact that the new regulations have been pushed back from 2021 to 2022 really doesn't help Ricciardo, or Renault's chances of retaining him for that matter.
"It's frustrating that the sport is driven quite a lot by being in the right equipment in the right season," he explained.
"But it's what I signed up for. And that in itself is an exciting part of the sport.
"The challenge is to position yourself with the best team at that moment and when rule changes come in, it's, like, is that still the right team to be with, or are we missing something? Do we need to try to build on what we've got here?
"It's kind of like chess a lot of the time. I wish it was black and white and everyone had the same and we could go and see who was the best, but that is not how it works. But I do feel that the best will always find a way to make it to the top."
- TEAMtalk media
