Ricciardo aiming for first Renault podium after 'genuine' P3 in FP2

Renault's Daniel Ricciardo expressed his hopes for a first podium with Renault at this weekend's 70th Anniversary Grand Prix after finishing P3 in FP2, a result he called 'genuine' for the team.

Ricciardo finished just off the podium in fourth at last weekend's British Grand Prix after taking advantage of tyre issues for Valtteri Bottas and Carlos Sainz to equal his best finish with Renault in F1. 

The Australian driver noted he was happy with the position, which saw him finish ahead of his former Red Bull teammate, Max Verstappen.

He was confident that if similar track conditions and temperatures are seen for Sunday's race as were seen in FP2, then there may be a possibility to score his first podium for the French team and the first for Renault since its return to F1 in 2016.

"We got out there, I did another run on the hard and that was a really good run and then found a good bit, a chunk, on the soft as well, so it was nice. Karel, my engineer, said, ‘That’s P3,’ I was like, ‘Alright, let’s do this in quali!." Ricciardo beamed after FP2.

“If we do what we did this afternoon, then yeah. And I think that was genuine for the track conditions. We did a few changes through the session, and I really felt a big step with one of the changes we made, and I was like, ‘This is a pretty good race car right now.’

“So I think we can hang in there. We’ll see. If we’re here in quali, I think that would still exceed what probably our expectation is now, but I think we can still do a very good job.”

Replies (0)

Login to reply

AZ Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Local time 

AZAzerbaijan Grand Prix

Local time 

World Championship standings 2025

Show full world champion standings

Test calendar

See full test schedule

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2025

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Bahrain
14 - Mar 16 2025
Australia
21 - Mar 23 2025
China
4 - Apr 6 2025
Japan
11 - Apr 13 2025
Bahrain
18 - Apr 20 2025
Saudi Arabia
2 - May 4 2025
United States of America
16 - May 18 2025
Italy
23 - May 25 2025
Monaco
30 - Jun 1 2025
Spain
13 - Jun 15 2025
Canada
27 - Jun 29 2025
Austria
4 - Jul 6 2025
United Kingdom
25 - Jul 27 2025
Belgium
1 - Aug 3 2025
Hungary
29 - Aug 31 2025
Netherlands
5 - Sep 7 2025
Italy
19 - Sep 21 2025
Azerbaijan
3 - Oct 5 2025
Singapore
17 - Oct 19 2025
United States of America
24 - Oct 26 2025
Mexico
7 - Nov 9 2025
Brazil
21 - Nov 23 2025
United States of America
28 - Nov 30 2025
Qatar
5 - Dec 7 2025
United Arab Emirates
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2025

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
14 - Mar 16 2025
Australia Albert Park
21 - Mar 23 2025
4 - Apr 6 2025
11 - Apr 13 2025
18 - Apr 20 2025
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
2 - May 4 2025
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
16 - May 18 2025
23 - May 25 2025
Monaco Monte Carlo
30 - Jun 1 2025
13 - Jun 15 2025
27 - Jun 29 2025
Austria Red Bull Ring
4 - Jul 6 2025
United Kingdom Silverstone
25 - Jul 27 2025
1 - Aug 3 2025
Hungary Hungaroring
29 - Aug 31 2025
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
5 - Sep 7 2025
Italy Monza
19 - Sep 21 2025
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
3 - Oct 5 2025
17 - Oct 19 2025
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
24 - Oct 26 2025
7 - Nov 9 2025
Brazil Interlagos
21 - Nov 23 2025
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
28 - Nov 30 2025
5 - Dec 7 2025
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
See full schedule
show sidebar