Ricciardo says he's having "positive influence" on Renault
Daniel Ricciardo believes he has positively influenced the Renault Formula 1 team despite its struggles since his move from Red Bull, and insists his motivation “hasn’t dipped by any means”.
Ricciardo left Red Bull after five seasons and seven grand prix wins and joined Renault to be part of the French manufacturer’s ongoing rise up the F1 grid.
However, Renault has so far failed to build on its fourth-place finish in the constructors’ championship last year, with poor performance and reliability limiting Ricciardo to 12th in the standings and a best result of seventh after five races.
Asked by Motorsport.com for his feelings about the team’s struggles and his Renault move on his return to Monaco, where he claimed his last win and podium finish 12 months ago, Ricciardo said he was “enjoying” the experience.
“I still see what I saw when I signed, as far as the input everyone’s having, the infrastructure still going up,” he said. “Motivation certainly hasn’t dipped by any means.
“It’s going to take a bit more time, I am trying as well and doing everything I can.
"I feel that also everything I have put in has been taken on board and team is willing to grow and learn. I’m not saying it is all me, but at least my influence has been quite positive.
“I am enjoying it. I really am. I’d love to get better results. Hopefully a special weekend here will kick things off nicely.”
Ricciardo’s seventh place in China is his only point-scoring result so far in 2019.
He has retired from three of the other four races and finished 12th in Spain, where he had to serve a three-place grid penalty for reversing into Daniil Kvyat during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Renault is not faring much better as a team and sits eighth in the constructors’ contest, albeit only 10 points behind fourth-placed McLaren.
“It’s still certainly a process,” Ricciardo said of Renault’s project. “I wouldn’t say I am surprised by anything.
“Obviously we would have hoped for better results than we have currently got. We all want that, we are all honest enough to admit that.
“It would be nice to get a few more seventh places, as opposed to struggling for the top 10. But we didn’t expect to be in podium contention or anything like that.”
Share Or Save This Story
Alfa Romeo must do better in "chaotic" races - Vasseur
Honda: Verstappen relationship 'like a young Senna'
Key team personnel shouldn't be F1 boss - Ferrari
“I went back to the car and cried” – Esteban Ocon opens up about his unexpected year on F1 sidelines
You Ask The Questions: Robert Kubica
On this day: Michael Schumacher’s final unsportsmanlike manoeuvre
F2 bulks up Baku schedule with extra feature race – is this a clue for F1’s future?
Nico Rosberg stunned by Kimi Antonelli's "unbelievable" maturity in 2026 F1 title fight
Why McLaren won’t blame F1 race control for lost Spanish GP victory
Williams tipped for "huge step" forward at Azerbaijan GP with major upgrade
Why Lando Norris doesn’t buy George Russell’s driving style theory
How Kimi Antonelli is proving unbeatable, even when he's beaten
How Norris unfurled a surprising - and "unrepeatable" - Spanish GP pole lap
Audi’s long road back to the top of grand prix racing
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments