Renault F1 qualifying pace ‘not a freak one-off’ - Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo is confident Renault’s qualifying performance at F1’s 70th Anniversary GP was “not a freak one off”, adding his RS20 is a “Q3 car”.
Renault F1 qualifying pace ‘not a freak one-off’ - Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo is confident Renault’s qualifying performance at Formula 1’s 70th Anniversary Grand Prix was “not a freak one off”, adding his RS20 is a “Q3 car”.

Ricciardo was one of the stars of qualifying as he claimed a brilliant fifth on the grid at the second Silverstone race in his upgraded Renault, outpacing Lance Stroll’s Racing Point, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and both McLarens.

Despite his teammate Esteban Ocon failing to get out of Q2, Ricciardo feels there is more to come from Renault on a Saturday.

“It is not a freak one off - it is there, or at least I feel it is,” Ricciardo said ahead of this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix.

“Is it going to be there every weekend? Maybe a top five could be a stretch, but I think we proved that we are a Q3 car.

“I think the only way we miss out on Q3 is if we make a mistake on our lap perhaps. But I think typically if everything is running smooth then we should be there.

“We will see what happens here, but I am excited to get some more good qualifying sessions and then convert them to a good race.”

The Australian was unable to convert his supreme qualifying result into a strong points haul as he struggled on a two-stop strategy and spun out of the top-10 while battling McLaren driver Carlos Sainz.

“Typically we been fast on Sundays, so it was like if we can sort qualifying and put ourselves towards the front, then we should have a strong race,” Ricciardo explained.

“We went for the two stop which did not work. It was just so sensitive with the tyres with the temperature, and we overcooked it with the second set.

“And then we were on the back foot, and I had a spin and it was just one of those races where I didn’t really get going.

“If we could do it all over again, we extend that first stint, and one stop. But we didn’t, so that is where we ended.

“I’m not very happy with the result! It is a bit of a shame because the Saturday went so well.”

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