Like Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari, Daniel Ricciardo will experience his last season with Renault in 2020, after having decided to leave the team for McLaren. In what atmosphere will this past year take place?
Cyril Abiteboul has already reassured his driver, stating that he would not be disadvantaged or marginalized. The same desire for appeasement can also be seen in the words of Daniel Ricciardo, who bases himself on his experience already lived in 2018, at Red Bull, when he announced his transfer to Renault.
“Maybe the first time I see some people on the team, there will be this moment … maybe a little awkward, I don’t know if that’s the word; but I mean I went there two years ago. “
“But for my part, I put it all behind me, it is not in my mind and it will not be until next year. Time has passed since the news was announced now. I spoke, or saw, some members of the team. I think we’re really going back to business and we’re all excited to be back on the run. “
“I hope we have a lot of racing and a chance to finish strong. “
“We’re just going to get used to it and continue. I spent a few days in the simulator and I saw a few people around the factory, they didn’t black my eyes or punch my stomach, so I think we let’s all move on and we’ll give it our all for the rest of the year. “
Daniel Ricciardo will he still have the opportunity to shine a little this season? It will depend on the competitiveness of the new Renault… Does he have an idea about it? And what can we expect from the triple evolution package that will arrive from the first Grand Prix, at the Red Bull Ring?
“You do a little summary after the tests and you try to understand where you really are, and it seemed in Barcelona that the midfield was going to be very tight. “
“I guess that’s it [le résultat des essais hivernaux] that Melbourne might have looked like. As you heard from Cyril, we have a different car in Austria, it will be different from the one we would have used in Melbourne. “
“I expect it to be tight. I expect the whole peloton to tighten this year. I think the gap with the leaders is going to narrow, and I think the whole middle of the grid is really becoming… it could be around a tenth as I recently said, so there is going to be tight. “
“But these are just empty words now. We have a little over a week before the first race, and everyone will have answers, including us. “
The fact that Daniel Ricciardo is on the start could benefit Esteban Ocon, who is with Renault until at least 2022: the French could try to take advantage of this situation to impose himself politically on the team.
But the former Racing Point vows not to think about it yet.
“At the moment, it’s already fantastic to start the season again. “
“We know what the goals are, we know what we want to achieve on the track, and I know what my job is: improving the car, giving good feedback, giving information so that we can improve.” “
“I know the team has no number one or number two. We are all on the same page. “