Daniel Ricciardo Begged Renault to Get him Back to the Front after 2019 Disaster

Daniel Ricciardo has endured a trial by fire stint in his maiden season as a Renault driver. In spite of the hardships, he believes that the 2019 season has rekindled his love for Formula 1.

The Australian driver stunned the paddock last year when he left Red Bull to join Renault for 2019 and 2020. With the 7-time race winner on board, the French outfit set a bold target of closing in on the Big three teams.

Unfortunately, things have not quite worked out the way that they hoped, since the season kicked off. Instead, Renault have booked a ticket to a runaway train heading in the opposite direction. However, Daniel Ricciardo is remaining positive and is not regretting his decision just year.

Speaking to BBC Sport in an exclusive interview, he mused, “Do I want to stay? Yes, because ideally we do get this to the next level”.

“It was my massive intention to come here. My intention wasn’t to have a two-year layover somewhere else. I know people might still think that, but I really want this to work. I feel like the hours I have put in this year have shown I have the drive to want to do so.”

Last year, Renault were the “Best of the Rest” behind Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari in the championship. This time around, they are down in fifth and locked in a tight battle with customer team, McLaren.

While Renault going the wrong way on a one way track, the opposite is coming true for McLaren. As a result, there is significant internal pressure on the French marquee, though it was worth noting that Daniel Ricciardo he was expecting nothing less than a difficult season.

He continued, “Even though I feel like I have worked more hours and probably worked harder this year than in previous years, it has still been quite enjoyable because the environment is different – new people, new relationships.”

“If anything, it has reiterated what I want in the sport.”

Admittedly, there have been some days in the office which were tough pills to swallow. One of them was the Austrian Grand Prix, where they really struggled compared to their rivals.

On the other end of the spectrum, there have mountain peaks to counter the chasms of Woe. A prime example was the Canadian Grand Prix, where Ricciardo qualified fourth, splitting the Ferraris. As an added bonus, he was able to stick it to the Red Bulls, who lined up behind him.

During his Red Bull tenure, Daniel Ricciardo snatched seven victories, and built himself a reputation as one of the sport’s most exciting drivers. His victories were characterised by charging through the field and audacious last-minute dive-bomb overtakes.

With regard to car performance, Renault are under the impression that they cracked the code. They were encouraged by strong performance in Canada, and power circuits like Belgium and Italy.

Ricciardo concluded, “It seems when I speak to the team, the base of the car, the fundamentals, the base direction, has limited us. So we developed it a little bit but it’s reached, I don’t want to say its peak, but it can’t really be developed that much more with this philosophy.”

“So, as far as now looking at next year, it seems like they want to change the whole aerodynamic philosophy of the car. Instead of focusing on this part of the car, say the middle part, and trying to generate as much downforce in the middle, it’s like, no, we need to focus on the front.”