Daniel Ricciardo doesn't feel the delay of the new technical regulations that were set to revolutionise the look and alter the pecking order of Formula One will play a big part in changing a driver market set for upheaval at the conclusion of this season.

A series of sweeping rule changes for 2021, set to radically alter the appearance of cars and forcing teams to operate under a budget cap for the first time, were postponed for 12 months earlier this week after an agreement by the 10 F1 teams, with the start of the 2020 season delayed until at least the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in June as the sporting world reels from the effects of the coronavirus.

Daniel Ricciardo's contract with Renault runs out at the end of 2020. Credit:Getty Images

The season-opening Australian Grand Prix was called off after a McLaren staff member tested positive for virus at Albert Park. Subsequent races in Bahrain, Vietnam, the Netherlands and Spain were postponed, while Monaco has been cancelled altogether for the first time in 65 years.

F1 teams have agreed to use their cars developed for 2020 again next season, scuppering the plans of many of the sport's top drivers, who had timed their most recent contracts to coincide with what is expected to be the most significant shake-up to the sport in the past decade.