Ricciardo looking to channel past Belgian GP success

Daniel Ricciardo believes his past results at Spa for the Belgian Grand Prix can stand him in good stead for the 2019 edition of the race this weekend.

The Australian has gained two podium spots and a race victory in Belgium in the past five races, and admits that he and most of his colleagues enjoy driving on the track itself.

“I think most drivers love racing at Spa. It’s such a cool place and a track with a lot of history. I seem to have a decent record there; a win in 2014 and podiums in 2016 and 2017,” Ricciardo said when previewing the GP.

“It’s a long lap – the longest of the year – so if you do make a mistake you know there is a chance to make it back up somewhere. There are so many corners to get right and it’s never over until you cross that line.”

Ricciardo’s team. Renault, headed into the 2019 F1 season full of hope and expectancy as they targeted bridging the performance gap to the top three teams. However, they have been desperately poor in the first half of the campaign and are sixth in the constructors’ championship.

Hulkenberg: Spa and Monza 'make or break'Read more

He knows he and the team need to improve in the second half, and is confident that they can.

“It’s been a challenging season so far, we can’t hide from that,” he confessed.

“There have been some positives, some things not so good, so the summer break was ideal for us. It was nice to take some time off, have a holiday in Los Angeles, and not think too much about racing. It was the same for the team, so hopefully we’re all feeling refreshed now.

“We’re targeting a better second-half of the season to catch our competitors. I know we can do it, we just need cleaner weekends.”

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