Daniel Ricciardo says finally achieving his first podium as a Renault driver caps a “pretty cool story” after the Eifel Grand Prix.
After four fourth-place finishes since joining at the start of last season, the Australian finally secured his first top-three finish since Monaco 2018 and the French manufacturer’s first as a full constructor since Singapore 2009.
“Yeah, it’s been a while,” Ricciardo admitted post-race. “Actually, to be honest it feels like the first podium all over again. The feeling I have now, it’s like that really happy shock.”
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Reflecting on the key moments, the 31-year-old admits he feared the late Safety Car could have undone all his hard work.
“At the start, it was critical to get ahead of [Alex] Albon and [Charles] Leclerc,” he explained. “Leclerc held on for a few laps, he defended well but then I got him and that set us up.
“Valtteri [Bottas] has a problem so that gave us the track position, but we knew that [Lando] Norris and [Sergio] Perez were going very well on the softs.
“Then the Safety Car restart at the end… I was very close to getting Max, but us obviously tussling meant that Perez got very close and I thought he was going to get me into Turn 4.”
Fortunately for Ricciardo, he held the Mexican at bay with secure P3 and a result that sees he and Renault achieve the goal they set out at the start of 2018.
“It was pretty stressful but it’s been two and a half years since I’ve had a podium, so it’s really nice,” he said.
“When we signed on the dotted line for this Renault contract, it was to be up here and get a podium by Year 2, and we’ve achieved that.
“Obviously next year is another story, I am moving on [to McLaren] but I think this really does still cap a pretty cool story that we’ve had and shared in these two years. And the good news is, it’s not over yet!”
Indeed, with this third place, Ricciardo finally wins the bet he had with Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul, which sees the Frenchman get a tattoo to commemorate the result.
“It’s gonna happen,” he said gleefully. “We’ll have to do some thinking now, probably something to do with me but with a German flavour!
“This is obviously the place we did it, so a little tip of the hat to something traditional in Germany as well.”
