Daniel Ricciardo not "left on the side" by Alonso's Renault arrival

Renault

Ricciardo not "left on the side" by Alonso's Renault arrival

The Spaniard was back at work at Enstone this week

Sam Hall

Thursday 24 September 2020 19:30

Daniel Ricciardo is adamant he is not being pushed to one side by Renault ahead of his move to McLaren and as Fernando Alonso reacquaints himself with the team.

In contrast to the situation at Racing Point where Sergio Perez has accused the team of trying to hide things since it was announced he would be making way for Sebastian Vettel in 2021, Ricciardo continues to be treated fairly by Renault.

That is despite the arrival of Alonso who this week enjoyed a three-day catch-up with the team where he won his two world titles in 2005 and '06.

Article continues under video

“I think Fernando coming in, going on the sim the last few days, that’s exciting for the team and I certainly don’t feel that I’m in any way shape or form left on the side," said Ricciardo.

“I’m still working a lot with the team to develop the car for this year and obviously Fernando’s return is exciting for not only Renault but for F1."

Unlike at Racing Point where Perez's destination remains unknown, Renault has no need to worry about Ricciardo taking secrets with him as McLaren is using its available development tokens to adapt the MCL35 to fit the Mercedes power unit.

It means for the duration of 2021, McLaren will be unable to use this knowledge to make upgrades.

Combining this factor with recent strong on-track performances, Ricciardo has sensed an improvement in the atmosphere within the team since his move was announced.

“Obviously, when I announced it there were some emotions as expected," revealed Ricciardo.

"The biggest thing for me was to reiterate my intention to fulfil everything for the remainder of this year and to give it all I had.

“At the time you say these things, whether it’s over the phone or in-person, eventually you’re actions have to do the talking.

"You can say so much, and it’s all well and good saying I’ll do my best and put everything in I can, but if I’m finishing at the back of the pack then it doesn’t seem like I’m living up to it.

“I feel like, certainly once we got racing and the team has seen the effort I’m putting in and the results that we’re turning out because of that, I think they can tell now that I was definitely trying to be true to my word and live up to that.

“We’re getting on with that, so I would say the atmosphere is very good."

Before you go...

Raikkonen's future not influenced by F1 starts record

Sainz suggests one-off reverse grid race to satisfy curiosity