F1: Ricciardo thinks wider tires would help the aces

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo says the reintroduction of wider tires to Formula 1 for 2017 will separate the better drivers from the rest of the field.

Earlier this month, the Strategy Group unveiled plans for a series of changes, which included increasing the rear tire width from 360mm to 420mm, a size last seen in 1992 (ABOVE). That will not only increase mechanical grip but also increase the speed of the cars, as the sport aspires to cut five to six seconds off the current lap times.

"Mentally your concentration has to be more in tune so I think you'll see a bigger separation between the top drivers and, let's say, the others," said Ricciardo. "It'll be more rewarding, I think, for the guys who think they can really do it.

"Mechanical grip's the big one. It's the best way to go because you could still follow close enough through the high-speed stuff. If it makes the lap times quicker, everything's going to come at you so much quicker.

"I think there's a lot of mechanical grip to be found, there's a pretty big chunk. So I think we could gain seconds just through that, and without bolting any more aero on. I think there's quite a bit of room up our sleeves."

Despite the changes aimed at transforming the sport, Ricciardo stressed that he thinks the current formula is pretty good in terms of racing.

"Obviously the pace we're going now is slowish, but the racing's good," he said. We obviously don't want to take that all away."

Originally on Autosport.com