Ricciardo encouraged by Renault progress

Daniel Ricciardo concedes some race days with Renault have been “painful” this season but feels the team have made progress. Ricciardo joined Renault ahead of the 2019 campaign after opting to leave Red Bull. The Australian, who won seven races during his five-year spell with Red Bull, is yet to finish on the podium this season, with his best result fourth place at the Italian Grand Prix. Ricciardo admits Renault have performed poorly in some races although he feels improvements have been made, and hopes they continue to develop as they look to get back to challenging for victories. “Since the [summer] break, I think we’ve got on top of the car better,” he told Fairfax Media. “We’ve had some poor races, but I feel we’ve learned from those. Some Sunday afternoons have been a bit painful but we’ve progressed, and that’s enough to keep me positive and optimistic. “I’ve stayed very understanding through it all and I haven’t expected the moon by the next day. I’ll put a bit more pressure on the team next year and expect more.”