Daniel Ricciardo claims the battle he had with Valtteri Bottas in Canada proves Renault has made big progress with the engine.
The Australian led the charge as the yellow machines enjoyed their best race of 2019 by far, keeping the Mercedes and Max Verstappen at bay in the first stint.
Ultimately, on the same tyres, the gap between the top teams and the midfield would emerge as the Finn and the Dutchman moved ahead.
But only after Ricciardo had used every trick in the book to try and keep Bottas at bay.
“With Bottas what it showed was that even though he had DRS we still had pretty good straight-line speed,” he was quoted by Crash.net.
“I feel there we have bridged the gap a lot. So still a lot of work to do but it certainly is looking good.
“I did all I could out there and I’m happy with the end result,” Ricciardo added.
“It’s the team’s first double points of the year and it’s a big one in sixth and seventh, and we can’t ask for anything more than that. There are definitely positive signs this weekend.”
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In a year when expectations were for Renault to break out of the midfield and start closing on the top three teams, results and performances have been disappointing.
However, the former Red Bull driver did see Montreal as a step forward.
“We know the top teams are superior at this stage, but still, it was a lot of fun to battle Valtteri [Bottas] for a few laps out there,” he claimed.
“We’re realistic in our approach, but the team should be proud of this weekend. They have that drive and determination to push on now and that’s really encouraging.”