Daniel Ricciardo was pleased to see Renault score “big points” despite just falling short of a podium in the British Grand Prix.
The Australian was involved in a race-long duel with the two McLarens, which provided most of the action before the dramatic conclusion to Sunday’s race at Silverstone.
And used his superior pace in the closing laps to catch and pass Lando Norris for fourth on the penultimate lap, this after Carlos Sainz was the other driver besides the two Mercedes’ to suffer a puncture.
“I thought we weren’t going to be fast with the Hard tyre for that last part of the race, or the middle to the end,” Ricciardo said admitting surprise at his superior speed late on.
“But then once I got in clear air, I was just able to push on it and it held up. I could see I was closing in on the McLarens a bit and it looked like they were closing in on Charles [Leclerc].
“We had pace, it was good. I saw actually that Charles was like 1.1s at the finish line in front, so quite close to a podium.
“It was a good race for the team as well – fourth and sixth – nice to get some big points. I know they’re happy and relieved so just a good one.”
Danny Ric got a front-row seat of Carlos Sainz’s late-race issue ?
P4, and a face full of sparks were his rewards ✨#BritishGP ?? #F1 pic.twitter.com/nPGUiJ7kZO
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 3, 2020
The tyre issues in the final laps are raising concerns about Pirelli’s plan to run one step softer compounds for this weekend’s second race at Silverstone.
But Ricciardo played down those fears.
“It was crazy, a lot of incidents with punctures,” he said. “Next week will be interesting with softer compounds, but I think it just forces us to do a two-stop and, yeah, maybe make it more exciting again.”
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- Ricciardo ‘cool’ with Abiteboul over Renault exit after initial comments
For Renault, Sunday’s haul 20 points more than doubled their tally from the first three races and has moved them back within 19 points of McLaren, who currently sit third in the Constructors’ standings.
“It was a very good result from a team perspective and one of our strongest since our return to Formula 1,” commented team boss Cyril Abiteboul.
“It is particularly good here in Silverstone, a temple of the Formula 1 championship and one of the home races for the team.
“Clearly, there was a bit of help towards the end to gain positions, but that should not take away from the very strong performance that the team has put in throughout the weekend.”
