Daniel Ricciardo out to resolve "unfinished business" in Bahrain

Renault

Ricciardo out to resolve "unfinished business" in Bahrain

Both Renaults retired within moments of each other in 2019

Sam Hall

Wednesday 25 November 2020 07:28 Updated: 08:52

Daniel Ricciardo has said he has "unfinished business" in Bahrain after retiring from inside the points in 2019.

On lap 54 of 58, both Ricciardo and then-team-mate Nico Hulkenberg suffered different power related, race-ending problems at turn one. Hulkenberg had been running sixth with the Australian tenth and, at the time, searching for his first point since joining the team from Red Bull.

"We had a difficult time last time out in Turkey, with the low levels of grip and wet weather making it a very unpredictable race," Ricciardo said. "Bahrain should be back to more ‘normal’ running, with a more familiar track surface.

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"We need to get both cars back into the points. I’m feeling much more on top of the car since we were last in Bahrain, so I think we should be in a good place.

"We also have a bit of unfinished business thereafter last season, so I’m pretty hungry and fired up."

The drastically revised calendar has seen Formula 1 remain in Europe for the majority of the year rather than heading to the warmer climates of the Americas and Asia.

Due to this, teams and drivers have been forced to adapt to cooler temperatures while lapping on Pirelli rubber that was not designed to be at its best in such conditions.

With the season-ending triple-header taking place in the Middle East, Ricciardo added: "I’m looking forward to being back in the heat in Bahrain! I know we’ve been to some awesome tracks across Europe recently and whilst they’ve all been fun for various reasons, the weather has been too cold for me! I much prefer the heat and it’s still pretty warm in Bahrain during the evening, which is great.

"Two of the three practice sessions are during the day when it’s really hot and both qualifying and the race are in the evening when the circuit is a lot cooler. This does make preparing for this race a challenge and adapting to different set-ups is important."

Before you go...

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