Renault 'now the underdog' in fight for third - Daniel Ricciardo

Renault

Renault 'now the underdog' in fight for third - Ricciardo

French team 18 points shy of third-placed Racing Point

Ewan Gale

Friday 20 November 2020 17:51

Daniel Ricciardo feels Renault is now the underdog in the battle to finish third in the constructors' championship after losing ground to both Racing Point and McLaren in Turkey.

Renault arrived in Istanbul third in the standings although just a single point ahead of its two immediate rivals.

But following a disappointing weekend, which included team-mates Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon coming together at the first corner, the team only increased its tally by a point, while Racing Point scored 20 and McLaren 15.

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It has left Renault 18 points shy of third and just six clear of a resurgent Ferrari that collected 27 points, the highest of any constructor.

“For sure now we’re the underdog but it’s still doable," said Ricciardo. "There are still three races. If there was only one race left, or even two, I would certainly be a bit more pessimistic. We can still do it.

“It’s obviously a shame that there was a big swing. [The race result] does sting, we can’t deny that, but with three races to go, I think we still have a chance to pull it off and, although the races will probably be dry, there will still be a bit going on.

“We know at Bahrain it’s a tight turn one and maybe Sergio [Perez] and [Lance] Stroll want to get into each other. We’ll see.”

Ricciardo added that, while he considered gambling the point he eventually gained from his 10th-place finish with a stop for slicks, the off-line standing water convinced him such a move was a risk too far.

He added: "I certainly thought about it but there was still, for me, enough standing water in places and, as we saw on Friday [practice], it was already difficult getting the tyre going.

“I think with any standing water, if we can’t get out of the box and really push on the slick, it’s just going to drop the temperature too quickly and even Friday was difficult. There was still simply too much water on the surface to convince me it was going to work.

“Maybe a couple of corners, like turn seven was getting relatively dry, I think a slick could have been better in maybe two, three corners maybe, but over a lap I didn’t see it, and then I didn’t see the temperature remaining.

“So even if it was quick for two laps I think it would have dropped and not have worked out.”

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