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Renault possesses more speed than Ferrari after the opening three races of the 2020 Formula 1 season, says Daniel Ricciardo.
Ferrari has scored 27 championship points compared to Renault's 12, however Ricciardo says recent grands prix have not displayed Renault's true race potential.
Ferrari has endured a difficult start to the 2020 campaign and is already almost 100 points down on Mercedes, who currently leads the constructors' championship.
MORE: Ferrari establishes new 'Performance Development' department for F1 team
Ricciardo ended the last two races in eighth place, but thinks that it is not far away from fighting against Racing Point, who is contesting Red Bull for the second-fastest outfit.
“We have had eighth every race,” Ricciardo said. “Look, obviously eighth is not bad, but I do really feel that we’ve had a bit more speed than an eighth-place car in all three of those races. At least the last two.
“I feel that we are not far from one of those top five, top-six finishes. I feel that we have a bit more speed than Ferrari at the moment. At least it seems so, the race pace is not too bad. So it is coming.
“It is good to have got the points, but I know there are some bigger ones around the corner. It looked like we had a bit more pace than McLaren today [in Hungary]. I am not sure where their race went, but we were pretty close to the Racing Point, so not too shabby.”
MORE: Renault lodges second protest against Racing Point
Ricciardo's race in Hungary saw him run deep into the race on a set of medium tyres before he pitted for a second set for the yellow-walled tyre.
However, he couldn't pace the Racing Point of Sergio Perez and was forced to settle for four points after crossing the line in eighth.
“I was pretty happy with it; I am pretty exhausted now to be honest,” he said. “I feel like I gave it everything I could.
“I will need to re-watch the race to see if there is something that we could have done better, but I felt like every lap I drove I was trying to move forward, or wrack the hell out of the car. I feel like we got the most out of it today.”
Grand Prix of Belgium
C. Sainz jr
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Replies (1)
Login to replygreatbigdong
Posts: 53
Yes, he may be right that Renault can probably unlock more speed out of their car, but I also expect Ferrari can unlock more out of their car too. The biggest issue Renault have is the reliability of their car - which has been an issue for years. On the plus side, I am sure there will be plenty of entertainment from the team next year with Alonso there!