Ricciardo ends Renault tenure with fastest lap honours
Monday, 14 December 2020
The Aussie denied Max Verstappen an Abu Dhabi grand slam.
Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo has secured fifth in the Formula 1® drivers' standings with a seventh-place result at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Although the weekend did not go to plan for Ricciardo, who uncharacteristically struggled in qualifying, a P11 start gave the Australian a chance for an alternate race strategy.
Gambling on hard tyres paid dividends in the race, despite the circuit providing limited overtaking opportunities the Australian was able to make four places in the race.
Ricciardo also put in a scintillating last-lap effort to steal grand slam honours from race winner Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) who looked all but set to take the accolade.
Teammate Esteban Ocon managed to finish P9 after a last-lap move on Lance Stroll (Racing Point).
🇦🇺 @danielricciardo is our special guest on the last episode for 2020 of our In the Fast Lane podcast 🎙️ Let us know what questions you would like the Aussie to answer & we will put them to him 🙌 #F1 pic.twitter.com/2bgou4lBHd
— F1 Australian Grand Prix (@ausgrandprix) December 8, 2020
“Considering we started eleventh I’m really satisfied with seventh position tonight," Ricciardo said.
"My stint on the Hard tyres at the beginning was really strong and the car felt good the whole time.
"The Safety Car changed things slightly, but we couldn’t progress fast enough to catch the cars ahead.
"I know we didn’t manage to finish third in the Constructors’ Championship but, overall, it’s been a strong season for the team and compared to last year it’s a great step forward.
"My last lap in the car was the fastest on track and I was pushing hard for that. Very nice! Merci beaucoup to the team for an awesome two years!"
Renault started Sunday aiming at a last-ditch attempt to secure third in the constructor’s championship but were denied after impressive results from McLaren's Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz.
Ricciardo will make the move to the Woking-based team for 2021, which will be powered by Mercedes.
With the 2020 Formula 1® season now complete, Ricciardo heads on a short holiday before setting his sights on the Formula 1® Australian Grand Prix 2021, 18-21 March, where he will debut in his new race colours.
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