Daniel Ricciardo believes the “whole dynamic is transforming” at Renault, given the squad’s recent progress after a tricky start.
Ricciardo joined Renault for 2019 but the team’s start to the campaign was beset by reliability setbacks, while it also struggled for pace from its R.S.19.
But recent engine gains have assisted the team’s progress while in Canada it finished sixth and seventh, with Ricciardo qualifying on the second row of the grid.
The result lifted Renault to fifth in the Constructors’ Championship, just two points down on fourth-placed McLaren.
“I was always expecting steady [progress], like I knew it wasn’t going to come quick,” said Ricciardo.
“Of course after the first four, five races, we hadn’t got many points. As a team, I guess we were a bit down because we weren’t where we wanted to be and where we expected to be.
“So yes, it wasn’t at that stage as good as myself or the team hoped. But I don’t know.
“I think because I’m still so new to the team and that, it was just still too early to get down, and because I didn’t have a real expectation in my head of where we would be after the first five races, I guess I remained fairly relaxed through it all.
“I knew that I still had a lot for myself to get out of it.
“I guess I in a way focused continuously on myself, that my speed would come and the team, I guess I knew it would kind of grow naturally over time.
“It’s certainly flourished quite a bit the last few races. It’s nice now, it’s really nice. I’m getting used to it, but the car’s improving, and the whole dynamic is transforming.
“Like all those things, it’s going to be, to get really inside the top five every weekend, that’s then that other step. We’ve made the first step there at least which is not bad after seven races I guess.”
Ricciardo added: “[Canada] did two good things: obviously it gave everyone a bit of a [lift].
“It also I feel ignited a pretty nice fire. The team had their first taste of a pretty big result in a while, especially the qualifying, nearly getting interviewed after qualifying!
“So I think even just getting a sniff of that was good to see.
“Obviously the competitor in me obviously wants that, and that’s always there. Seeing it within the engineers, the mechanics and everyone, everyone just had a buzz about them. It was nice.”
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