Daniel Ricciardo has called for a back-to-basics approach for Red Bull to forge a return to the front of the grid . Second best to Mercedes last season after a run of four successive championship triumphs , Red Bull have struggled at the start of this year . To rub salt into the wounds , Red Bull even found themselves trailing 'sister ' team Toro Rosso at the last race in Malaysia . Daniel Ricciardo in action during practice for this weekend 's Chinese Grand Prix . The Australian driver has urged his Red Bull team to go back to basics after a troubled start to 2015 . The main gripe has centred on power-unit supplier Renault , with billionaire benefactor Dietrich Mateschitz suggesting this week he could pull his team out of the sport if matters fail to improve . Ahead of this weekend 's grand prix in China , Ricciardo concedes Red Bull are exploring numerous avenues to correct the problems . The Australian managed to finish third quickest in practice , a second behind reigning champion Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes and four tenths of a second adrift of Ferrari 's Kimi Raikkonen . 1 . Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:37.219 . 2 . Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:37.662 . 3 . Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull - Renault 1:38.311 . 4 . Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:38.339 . 5 . Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:38.399 . 6 . Daniil Kvyat Red Bull - Renault 1:38.737 . 7 . Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 1:38.850 . 8 . Felipe Nasr Sauber - Ferrari 1:39.032 . 9 . Romain Grosjean Lotus - Mercedes 1:39.142 . 10 . Jenson Button McLaren 1:39.275 . 11 . Pastor Maldonado Lotus - Mercedes 1:39.444 . 12 . Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:39.743 . 13 . Marcus Ericsson Sauber - Ferrari 1:39.751 . 14 . Max Verstappen Toro Rosso - Renault 1:39.894 . 15 . Carlos Sainz Jr Toro Rosso - Renault 1:39.971 . 16 . Nico Hulkenberg Force India - Mercedes 1:40.151 . 17 . Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 1:40.423 . 18 . Sergio Perez Force India - Mercedes 1:40.868 . 19 . Roberto Merhi Marussia - Ferrari 1:42.973 . 20 . Will Stevens Marussia - Ferrari 1:44.564 . 'We are experimenting with a few things , but I think for now we have to go back to what we know , get our basics right , ' said Ricciardo . 'We have done quite a bit . In Malaysia we had brake issues , a lot of overheating , so we have reverted back on a few things , even from last year which we knew was more efficient . 'Just because it 's from last year it does n't mean it 's not better , so I guess we have taken a step back in that direction . The team has done quite a lot to rectify some issues and get us further up the grid . ' Ricciardo has no doubt Renault are also pulling their weight , adding : 'From Melbourne to Malaysia they made a pretty massive step with driveability . 'We also have a few more software things this weekend , which should give things another pretty significant step on that side . ' I appreciate what everyone is doing to get us back towards the front , so fingers crossed it can be put together in the right way this weekend and if so we can get back into that top five . ' Daniil Kvyat was forced to pull off track 19 minutes from the end of FP2 after his brakes caught fire . Team-mate Daniil Kvyat , however , was not so fortunate as the young Russian was forced to pull off track 19 minutes from the end of FP2 after his brakes caught fire . Christian Horner said : 'Something overheated within the rear hub assembly . As a result of that we lost pressure in the master cylinder halfway round the lap . 'We asked him to drive back slowly without using the brakes if at all possible , but unfortunately he had to brake at turn 14 and he had a very slow off . 'It 's frustrating it 's happened , but all the relevant pieces are intact so we can find out what the root cause was . ' Despite suffering brake issues in Malaysia , Horner insists the issue there and the one experienced by Kvyat are 'totally unrelated ' . Horner added : 'Today was a one-off and can be sorted for tomorrow . '
Red Bull have endured a difficult start to the new Formula One session . teammate Ricciardo was third quickest during practice for the Chinese session . The Australian 's Red Bull team - mate mark Kvyat was sixth fastest . But his car caught fire and he was forced to retire on track .