Fernando Alonso Knows “He Can Do Better” than Ricciardo: Renault Sporting Director

Renault have enjoyed an incredible second-half to the 2020 season as the team saw Daniel Ricciardo feature on the podium twice. Such performances would have definitely bolstered Fernando Alonso’s confidence.

During a podcast, Renault’s Sporting Director, Alan Permane, opened up about how the Spaniard knows he can do better than Ricciardo in Renault following his return to F1.

“When he sees Daniel doing that in the car, I’m very sure he knows in himself he can do better than that,” Alan told F1’s Beyond the Grid. “So, that’s his benchmark.”

Renault were trudging through a rough patch early this season. However, a breakthrough in their car’s development meant that the team found a significant amount of pace. Although they missed out on a few chances of scoring a podium, Renault eventually got what they deserved.

The team’s dominant pace was evident at Nurburgring as Ricciardo managed to get his first podium in years. What’s more, it did not stop there. As just a few race weekends later, the Australian secured his second podium of 2020.

Can Fernando Alonso get his first podium in years by next season?

Well, Alan is quite confident that the future Renault driver is extremely excited about his return to Formula 1. He added that podiums could be a regular thing for Alonso.

“That’s the minimum he’s gonna do in it,” Alan said. “That is what Daniel’s doing in it. So, he’s excited. He’s been on the podium a couple of times. I’m sure he [Alonso]  thinks he can do even better.”

As Alan said, Renault could scale to a position where scoring podiums would be a normal thing for the team. Such ambition is what Fernando Alonso has been craving since he parted ways with Ferrari.

Unfortunately, he fell into a ditch with McLaren and never found a way out of it. Now, he will definitely know that he has got a competitive car in his hand. Hence, with such aspiration, Alonso will want to push his team hard enough to reach glory.

Moreover, Renault is the team that has already gifted Alonso 2 World Championships. Can the Spaniard make it 3 in the upcoming years?