Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo says his third-place result at the Eifel Grand Prix has all the emotions of his maiden podium result in Formula 1 that he achieved over six years ago.
The Australian crossed the finish line at the Nurburgring on Sunday in third place, marking Renault’s first podium since it re-joined the sport as a Constructor in 2016.
Ricciardo was promoted into third after Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas dropped out with Power Unit issues, but his position came under threat late on in the race amid a Safety Car restart.
However, Ricciardo held on to take his first podium since his victory at Monaco in 2018 for Red Bull, ending a two and a half year drought for the 31-year-old.
“To be honest, it feels like the first podium all over again,” Ricciardo said. The feeling I have now, it’s like that really happy shock.
“The Safety Car restart at the end, I was very close to getting Max [Verstappen], but us tussling meant that [Sergio] Perez got very close and I thought that he was going to get me into Turn 4.
“So it was pretty stressful, but it’s been two and a half years since I’ve had a podium and [it’s] really nice.”
Ricciardo committed his future to McLaren earlier this year, agreeing to join it for 2021 when his two seasons at Renault comes to a conclusion.
Despite Renault showing strong promise throughout 2020, Ricciardo asserts that he has no remorse over his decision to leave.
“I’m obviously OK with it, [I’m] very positive and excited for next year. But I would much rather end on a high.
“People think it’s easier to leave if we’re struggling and it’s like ‘Yeah OK, you’re moving on to something better’.
“But, I don’t want to struggle, period. I want to have success in every race.
“To leave here with success and on a positive and with a team with a lot of excitement and happiness, to see them all today, it’s cool.
“I’m OK with everything right now and just really happy that we’ve had a successful season and fighting up at the front again, that’s what I want.”
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