Renault confirms Ocon exit a repeat issue

Renault described Esteban Ocon’s Styrian Grand Prix retirement as ‘painful’ after confirming that it was a repeat of the issue that halted Daniel Ricciardo’s Austrian Grand Prix.

Ocon finished eighth at Formula 1’s season-opener while Ricciardo was forced to retire due to a cooling issue in the R.S.20.

Renault thought it had remedied the problem between the grands prix but on Sunday endured a repeat, only this time it was Ocon with the cooling issue, while Ricciardo classified eighth.

“We had good emotions after qualifying with both cars reaching Q3 and Esteban who showed a very strong pace in extreme conditions,” said Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul.

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“[After the race] the emotions were much more painful after another retirement for one of our cars caused by exactly the same issue as last weekend.

“We had put lots of effort to return, examine the parts in Enstone, and send it back to the track, but clearly there is something that we missed.

“This poor level of reliability is, obviously, not acceptable in a field that is so tight.

“The race also showed that we need a bit more pace against our direct competitors. Daniel had a good race and he did well to defend for so long.

“Overall, the prevailing feeling is one of disappointment, however, we should not deter from the fact we’ve improved massively at this track compared to previous years.

“The car has made huge steps forwards but so have the other teams.”

Renault holds sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship but those results remain subject to its protest of Racing Point’s brake ducts.