Daniel Ricciardo reckons the winter for Renault will be to work on the front-end of their car to be better prepared for the 2020 F1 season.
After a post-race radio discussion in 2019 Abu Dhabi GP perked up the ears of F1 paddock members and fans, Ricciardo elaborated on his dialogue, which he maintained was truthful, and not sugar-coating for Renault’s benefit.
In the conversation, Ricciardo said to the Renault crew that they would improve in 2020, and to the media, including FormulaRapida.net, his claims were consistent to this. “I think putting it bluntly I’m not really a speech-maker,” he said.
“I know I like to talk a lot but I’m not one to be like, I don’t think I talk too much shit, like I’m not gonna say “We’ll do better next year boys” if I really don’t think will. I’m not just gonna massage their shoulders and tell them what they want to hear.
“I think even, even in myself I know I’ll do better so that’s one variable that I know is gonna to change for the better.” Talking more about 2020 F1 season, though, Ricciardo discussed the areas that needed improvement for Renault.
He feels that the team has to work on the front-end grip primarily. This was something Ricciardo was seen struggling with, early in the 2019 season, as he locked-up quite frequently – something uncharacteristic for him, who is known for his excellent braking.
“I’m confident moving into 2020 F1 season, but I think there’s a lot of like speaking with the aero guys, like to discuss the philosophy of how we’ve designed the car and especially the front of the car in 2019,” said Ricciardo.
“I think they’re pretty confident that was maybe not the best way to go, and looking at some other teams, I think to develop the car we can change that and get a lot more out of it. And the updates, we didn’t get that much, so I think we’ve got a bit in-hand, and we’ve certainly gotten the resource and the budget to do so, so, yeah, optimism.”
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The story was edited by Darshan Chokhani