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Daniel Ricciardo says his P4 result in qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix is a strong sign of the correlation he currently has with Renault.
Ricciardo finished ahead of Pierre Gasly and Valtteri Bottas on Saturday, to secure a second-row start alongside Charles Leclerc.
The Australian revealed that Renault didn't change much on the car throughout the weekend, which is a strong sign that the team knows what he needs for the weekend.
"I definitely get more comfortable with the car with each lap that I do," Ricciardo said. "We've barely touched the car all weekend, so we already know what I need from the car and what I like.
"That's a sign as well, there's a good correlation between us. That's also giving me the confidence now to drive and get somewhere with it.
"I knew there was a chance of Q3 but I didn't think it would be a standout. There's fast chicanes, a lot of kerbs, that's one thing we've been trying to make as good as the Red Bull.
"We've been coming a long way since Melbourne and it's nice to get this result here."
Ricciardo knew there was time on the table
Ricciardo revealed that he knew after Q2 there was a chance he could get in front of Gasly in the final session after he wasn't happy with his hot lap.
"P4 is sweet for sure," he said "We knew that once Max was out, Q3 we could have a real run. In Q2, Gasly was about four-tenths ahead of me but I wasn't happy with my lap so I knew there was some free time to take.
"I knew Q3 could be interesting but he [Gasly] also had two sets of new tyres, so I knew it would have to be a perfect lap. But to get Valtteri as well... I saw he had a spin and I don't know what happened on the second run.
"You do need the car under you to give you confidence. You don't need the fastest car. We were able to get something pretty close to that in Monaco and we've brought that here as well."
Grand Prix of Belgium
C. Sainz jr
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Replies (5)
Login to replyf1fan0101
Posts: 1,804
Couldn't believe my eyes... what a result!
motorthread
Posts: 33
Made up for him, let’s just hope this is a sign of things to come.
xoya
Posts: 583
Ricciardo is the man. :)
Best driver to never win a championship.
Apart from Verstappen.
Although Verstappen WILL win a title. Ricciardo, I am not so sure. :(
abhidbgt
Posts: 283
A wonderful lap.
Pistonhead
Posts: 556
Agree with comments above, brilliant effort but I don't see that transferring into a race result - I can see Verstappen pipping him from way back.....