Abiteboul: “One of our best results since our return”

See Daniel Ricciardo the happy face will surprise no one. But Sunday evening, it was all the men of Renault who fell asleep with smiles from ear to ear. “ I am very happy with the team's result. It was a lot of fun on track with lots of overtaking, great battles and a fantastic result to finish.” abstract Esteban Ocon.

Both qualifying in Q3, Ocon and Daniel Ricciardo put in a solid race to finish fourth and sixth, emerging from the final chaos without a scratch. “It was a bit crazy at the end and it’s really nice to come away with fourth place” reacted Daniel Ricardo.

The Australian struggled hard with both McLaren de Carlos Sainz et Lando Norris. « We got off to a good start to move up to sixth place. On relaunch (after the Safety Car, editor’s note.), I was close to Carlos, but not close enough and that opened the door for Lando. It was a little frustrating. »

Ricciardo managed to pass Norris at the end of the race before Sainz's puncture.  “I was getting closer to Charles [Leclerc] and we could perhaps have aimed for a podium with a few more loops! We were helped a little by the chaos, but we were clearly in the top six cars today. »

Esteban Ocon, for his part, fought for a long time against Racing Point Lance stroll which he overtook five laps from the end. The Frenchman signs his best result of the season and shows that he is not far from his teammate.

Overall, Renault is having its best performance since Monza 2019, where Ricciardo and Hulbenkerg did four and five. “  This is one of our best results since our return to F1, bids Cyril Abiteboul, the Team Principal. It's especially good to get it at Silverstone, a temple of the Formula 1 World Championship and one of the team's home races. »

He believes he has now identified the characteristics of the Renault. “ After circuits where the car was in difficulty, the Silverstone track confirms the strengths and weaknesses of our car » With a clear improvement to be found in fast turns. “ This is our weak point compared to our direct rivals. We have progressed, but we must not lose sight of our direct competitors or the level of competitiveness of Mercedes in all circumstances. »

Renault, which has once again filed a complaint against Racing Point, will have the opportunity to confirm its good intentions in England next weekend.

Discover the full report and analysis of the British Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondent at Silverstone, in AUTO issue 2272hebdo, available this evening in digital version and this Wednesday on newsstands.