Daniel Ricciardo: “A little bad not to be on the podium”

Third after achieving his undercut on Lance stroll (RacingPoint), Daniel Ricciardo was in a position to aim for the podium on the Mugello track yesterday afternoon. But the last restart after the Canadian went off the track was ultimately fatal to the Australian. Renault F1 Team.

A time spent ahead Valtteri Bottas on the departure procedure, the ex-pilot Red Bull could not contain the return of the Finn, nor that of Alex Albon (Red Bull) and saw third place slip away from him.

“I'm really happy with this race and we were so close to the podium once again, underlines Ricciardo. Towards the end, we were heading towards third place, so it's a shame to miss it by so little. We couldn't get any closer and we will continue to attack to get there.

Our starts were good, we passed Valtteri, but he and Alex were too fast for it to last. It hurts a little not to be on the podium after that, but this fourth place remains an excellent result. »

12 points in the hands of the Australian and Renault which are good for the French team which nevertheless expected to suffer on a circuit almost unknown to everyone. “We came here expecting a very difficult weekend, with track characteristics that generally don't suit our car, but we still managed to make it perform, reports Cyril Abiteboul, director of Renault Sport Racing.

This again indicates that we can extract more while our factories develop the future developments we need. After an emotional roller coaster since Friday, it’s good to be disappointed with fourth place!

We believed we had a podium for a while and the team probably deserved it, but Alex Albon clearly had better pace with the Red Bull on the final restart. »

Discover the full report and analysis of the Tuscan Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondent at Mugello, in AUTO issue 2278hebdo, available this evening in digital version and this Wednesday on newsstands.