Early season pace caught Renault by surprise - Ricciardo
Early season pace caught Renault by surprise - Ricciardo
Former-Renault driver Daniel Ricciardo has revealed the early-season pace of the R.S.20 caught the team off guard after a disappointing pre-season campaign.
Renault and Ricciardo entered 2020 with the ambition to stand on the podium at least once in the year, ending a five-year spell without silverware for the Enstone-based team and a nine-year stint between drinks for Renault as a manufacturer.
Ricciardo conceded that, after the end of the pre-season Barcelona test, he was not entirely convinced about the realism of the target but, when returning to the track several months later in Austria, his belief returned.
Speaking of the progress made across his two-years with Renault, Ricciardo said: “I think enough progress to pleasantly surprise all of us – us drivers and the team.
"Of course you have objectives and targets and it was the objective to be on the podium this year but sometimes you do set the bar a little higher and I’m not sure we were all convinced deep down that we would make a big enough step to do it but we have.
“It’s one of those nice feelings. It wasn’t quite there in winter testing. It felt better but I wasn’t convinced it was good enough to really make that massive step but then in Austria, after all that lockdown and a few more updates on the car, I remember the first lap in it I was like ‘oh yeah, now it’s actually given me quite a bit’.
"We really ironed out quite a few weaknesses that we had last year and even in testing. So that was the moment and sometimes you literally need one or two laps and you’re like ‘yeah, this car’s going to do alright’ and you just know.”
Ricciardo finished fifth in the standings with Renault fifth in the constructors' championship. Despite the French manufacturer only matching its 2019 position, its tally of 181 points was a marked improvement on the 91 scored in the previous year.
Esteban Ocon added a podium finish of his own to the Australian's two in the Sakhir Grand Prix, but Ricciardo claims it was the consistency of Renault across the year that impressed him most.
“I think that’s been the nicest thing, the actual consistency we’ve had this year from not only performance but also reliability," he explained. “It was hard to string a lot of good races together last year whether it was some reliability or we were just strong on particular tracks, obviously this year we’ve just been much more well rounded everywhere.
“I think looking back, obviously, there are the highs of the podiums but as a whole, the consistency in the top ten and Q3s has been the biggest one.”
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Haas announce Hulkenberg EXIT as F1 star's new team confirmed
- Today 11:27
F1 champion claims Drive to Survive success was 'very lucky'
- 1 hour ago
F1 franchise welcomes return of INCREDIBLE feature
- 2 hours ago
F1 News Today: Red Bull star set to QUIT team as F1 driver role CONFIRMED for 2025
- 3 hours ago
F1 team set to axe BOTH star drivers
- 3 hours ago
Red Bull to lose F1 MVP as true cost of Horner saga hits
- Today 09:57
Related news
Ricciardo boss in 'super disappointing' claim amid RB stars' performance
Horner delivers threat to Ricciardo over Red Bull pressure
Marko suggests 'exciting' move to REPLACE Ricciardo
Ricciardo SNUBS team-mate in 'pressure' claim
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860