Daniel Ricciardo acknowledges his first French Grand Prix at Renault will be a “significant race” for the team.
Expectations are the highest they have been all season after the Australian qualified fourth and finished sixth in Canada at the previous race, the best result the team has achieved since Austin last year.
And after a start to the season which had fallen short of what was anticipated, Ricciardo described the impact it had on those at Enstone.
“It was great to see the positivity on everyone’s faces after the race,” he said.
“We entered the season with a lot of expectation on us and I think we’re really starting to come up and show our true pace.
“I’m glad the team enjoyed a strong weekend as it’s been stressful at times, but we kept working and now I’m optimistic this is the start of heading on the right path.
“There’s clearly a lot more work to do to catch up to our expectations, but fighting with the front three for a part of the Canada race was a lot of fun.”
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And now Ricciardo is hoping a substantial upgrade for the race at Paul Ricard can result in the Montreal pace being repeated in front of Renault’s home crowd.
“I’m really looking forward to embracing the French atmosphere and hopefully doing the team proud,” he said.
“I know it’s a significant race for them and how much it means to everyone involved.
“The team had good pace at Paul Ricard last year, so there’s certainly a good feeling going there.”