Daniel Ricciardo wanted to give Renault "something to get excited for" by fighting Valtteri Bottas during the Canadian GP.

After qualifying fourth in Montreal, the Australian was able to use softer tyres to hold off the Mercedes and both Red Bulls in the first stint.

That advantage would disappear when on the same compound but it didn't stop Ricciardo producing some slightly questionable moves to stay ahead.

But rather than concede defeat, he admits there was a little message behind putting his Renault in the path of the Finn.

"I was running fourth at the time, so I wanted to fight as hard as I could to keep that," he told ESPN ahead of the French Grand Prix.

"I knew the odds were against me. It just felt too easy to let him go, and maybe it would have been better for my tyres and my race in the end...

"I was like 'let's put up a fight'. I knew I was clearly the underdog in that battle. He was on fresher tyres, in a faster car.

"I was like -- let's test myself here and try and keep him back as long as I could. That was a little personal challenge for me as well.

"I also thought that everyone expected us to drop behind the faster cars in the race, so I thought well if I can maybe give the team of something to get excited for again, then why not?

"There was certainly some aggression behind the visor for those few laps. Happy aggression."

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• Bottas not complaining despite aggressive Ricciardo fight in Canada

Ricciardo would ultimately finish sixth with teammate Nico Hulkenberg right behind in seventh, giving the French manufacturer their best result of 2019 by a considerable margin.

And after what has been a problematic start since joining from Red Bull, the 29-year-old again insisted patience was always likely to be a virtue.

“I was always expecting steady [progress] like I knew it wasn’t going to come quick,” he said.

“Of course after the first four, five races, we hadn’t got many points. As a team, I guess we were a bit down because we weren’t where we wanted to be and where we expected to be.

“So yes, it wasn’t at that stage as good as myself or the team hoped.

“I guess I in a way focused continuously on myself, that my speed would come and the team, I guess I knew it would kind of grow naturally over time," he added.

“It’s certainly flourished quite a bit the last few races. It’s nice now, it’s really nice. I’m getting used to it, but the car’s improving, and the whole dynamic is transforming.

“Like all those things, it’s going to be, to get really inside the top five every weekend, that’s then that other step. We’ve made the first step there at least which is not bad after seven races I guess.”