Daniel Ricciardo says he had a “really nice” response from his Renault colleagues after his move to McLaren was confirmed for 2021.
The Australian decided to leave the French manufacturer after just two years, following talks with McLaren that, in theory, began before he even joined in 2018, but saw another opportunity arise when Carlos Sainz was chosen to join Ferrari.
His boss at Renault, Cyril Abiteboul, hasn’t exactly been thrilled when commenting on Ricciardo’s exit, questioning his faith in the team and suggesting he was forced into an early call by McLaren.
But while he may have some sour grapes, the rest of those at Enstone have responded with grace.
“After the news, it was actually really nice. I received a lot of positive feedback from people on the team,” he told CNN.
“And I know that they’re excited for me to fulfil the rest of the year with them, to try and do as best as possible and hopefully win as many races as possible.”
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Looking ahead to the upcoming second season in yellow, Ricciardo is also sticking by the targets laid out initially last year.
“When I signed with Renault the objective, I think by year two, was to get a podium,” he said.
“That’s something I still very much want to do, and I do believe that can be done. So yeah, that would be a nice little send-off for everyone involved.
“I certainly know that I still owe a lot to Renault and I want to do that, not only for myself but for them.”
As for whether a podium is an attainable target in 2020 though, Ricciardo admits he’ll have to wait until Austria to find out.
“Certainly I want to be up there again winning and that’s why I was really curious to see how Melbourne went for us and see how much of a step we made and how much the team has progressed in the winter,” he said, speaking to Autocar.
“We made gains, but we needed to make a pretty big gain to compete with the top three teams so I think we’re certainly still a bit off that. But if I put a positive spin on that… I think we’ve made gains and closed the gap.
“All that stuff is interesting to see – I’m curious, the team is curious. I’m hanging out to be on the podium again that’s for sure.”
Last week though also saw the two-year anniversary of the former Red Bull driver’s last F1 win in 2018, and the 30-year-old is desperate to enjoy another victory shoey sooner rather than later.
“For sure I’m not the most patient person, because I believe in myself and that I can be winning races and I don’t want to deny myself that too long.
“It’s now two years since Monaco so it’s been a while for sure since I tasted it and I’m craving it again. But I’ve also [realised], with age, this sport is what it is, it is 20 drivers and not all 20 are going to be in a winning position. It does require patience it’s just how it works.”