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The world reacts to the great Daniel Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo smiled after finishing his brilliant weekend with a stunning fourth place in the Belgian Grand Prix.

The Australian F1 star set the fastest lap of any driver’s race in his final run on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit as he returned to form after disappointing 11th and 14th finishes in his last two Grand Prix.

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Lewis Hamilton scored another win for Mercedes while teammate Valtteri Bottas finished second, followed by Ricciardo’s former Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen in third.

It was definitely the best day of the year for Renault when Esteban Ocon crossed the finish line in fifth behind Ricciardo.

“What a race and definitely an excellent result for the team,” said Ricciardo. “It’s been a while since I set the fastest lap in the race. That was nice too.

“My engineer told me what is currently the fastest, and I thought. ‘I can do this!’ It was a real big round; I used the whole route and decided to do it. Maybe yesterday was better than my qualifying round! “

Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul did not let himself get carried away, but was still satisfied with the weekend.

“We knew Spa would fit our package and there were big points at stake. We implemented our plan all weekend, ”he said.

“In addition to the strong final positions that bring us closer to the teams in the championship, Daniel’s fastest lap today rounds off the result in style, and I see this as a reward for everyone in Viry who has worked so hard for several years Get a grip on the complexity of the unit. “

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Ricciardo chased Verstappen to death as he chased his first podium in Renault colors, but the safety car put an end to that dream.

“I was a little frustrated with (Pierre) Gasly and (Sergio) Perez’s strategy (to stay outside in the safety car). She put Max and me in a buffer on restart. Without that we really could have stayed on the hard (tires), ”said Ricciardo.

“I don’t know if we could have passed, but we could have had a much better chance.

“I tried to overtake and if he passed me later, so be it, but it wasn’t worth it to rush into the first corners. I’ve been there trying to keep that one percent of maturity and discipline in me. “

“What a hero”

F1 presenter Matt Gallagher tweeted: “What a SENSATIONAL drive from Ricciardo this afternoon! Easily driver of the day. “

Motorsport journalist Luke Smith added: “Ricciardo with the fastest lap on the last lap !!! What a hero! “

English reporter Joe Krishnan said that if the race had been one lap longer, Ricciardo would have been on the podium, while BBC’s Andrew Benson said the West Australian had an “excellent” race.

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Ricciardo left Red Bull in late 2018, partly due to concerns the team had the young gun, Verstappen, and Lewis Hamilton believes the Dutchman will fight without the Aussie by his side.

Verstappen is second in the drivers’ standings and team-mate Alex Albon fourth. Red Bull is runner-up in the constructors’ championship, but Hamilton doesn’t think Verstappen is getting enough help from his colleague – who finished sixth in Belgium and only finished in the top four once all season.

“I think the Red Bulls have a very good car,” Hamilton told Sky Sports’ Rachel Brookes. “People downplay it, but they have a very, very strong car and Max does a great job with it.

“Unfortunately, both drivers are not there like me and Valtteri.

“That makes it harder for them. I experienced it with McLaren many years ago and I was the driver who was always at the top and didn’t have a teammate, so you also don’t get the constructors’ points and then you can’t use the strategy to play cars on the road against that they drive.

“So he’s (Verstappen) somehow alone.”

Sky Sports expert Paul Di Resta agreed, adding, “That could have been the difference today. If you had another car behind Max you could have made Mercedes uncomfortable. Here two cars make a big difference against one. “

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