Frustration for Renault in Portugal: “Understanding what cost us so much”

Obviously, when you come off a first podium in a decade, it is difficult to relive such emotions during the next Grand Prix. For Renault, the fall was painful, with an eighth and a ninth place acquired in Portimao (Portugal), two weeks after Daniel Ricciardo's third place in Germany.

“We left Germany with the thrill of Daniel's podium, so it was disappointing to see how our cars struggled to find grip throughout the weekend, recognize Cyril Abiteboul, the French Team Principal, who nevertheless finds points of optimism.

“Esteban's huge stint in the mediums was extremely competitive. »
Find out what our pilots and Cyril Abiteboul have to say for the #PortugueseGP.
https://t.co/zFstOvwkN7#RSspirit pic.twitter.com/tIy02Nf347

- Renault F1 Team (@RenaultF1Team) October 25, 2020

The team managed to progress after a very poor start on Friday and today's eighth and ninth places were probably the best result that we could objectively obtain by starting tenth and eleventh. The most interesting thing about this race is that while we never managed to get the softs to work, Esteban's huge stint on the mediums was extremely competitive.

This clearly demonstrates that the weekend was dictated by tire management. The end of the season is approaching and we could experience similar circumstances during the next two meetings.

Renault is still aiming for the third step on the final podium among the Manufacturers, being only six points behind Racing Point. “We absolutely need to understand what cost us so much if we want to finish on a high in the Constructors' Championship. I'm delighted for Esteban, as he made no mistakes on this tricky weekend while allowing us to keep our rivals within shooting range. »

Good race, cool fights, nice management by the team
We made it through and scored good points! Happy with that Imola next! # EO31 #portuguesegp pic.twitter.com/YOYXypzNTK

— Esteban Ocon (@OconEsteban) October 25, 2020

Precisely, the Norman demonstrated his tire management qualities on Sunday. “I completed fifty-three laps with these tires! They seemed to last a long time and my pace was good, even at the end of the stint. It also continued to rain for short periods, so we had to deal with the different grip levels. »

Finally, his teammate Daniel Ricciardo preserves its fourth position in the Drivers' championship. “The start of the race was crazy and we managed to gain places on the first lap to take eighth position. As soon as the hierarchy stabilized, we had difficulty finding grip on softs, hence our stop quite early.

We wore the mediums for a long time, so we had to spend a lot of the second stint managing the tires. I couldn't attack too much as I could never really put them in the optimal window. »

Find in AUTO issue 2284weekly, on sale Monday evening digitally and Wednesday on newsstands, analysis of the Portuguese GP by our special correspondent.