Daniel Ricciardo says Renault is no longer favourite to finish third in the Constructors’ Championship but believes the team has enough races to still beat Racing Point.
Renault held third spot after the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in the wake of Ricciardo capturing a second podium in the space of three events.
But its prospects took a hit at Formula 1’s return to Turkey with Ricciardo taking only a point while Esteban Ocon failed to score after two separate incidents on the opening lap.
Rivals Racing Point, McLaren and outsider Ferrari all scored heavily in the race.
Fifth-placed Renault is now 18 points adrift of Racing Point, with McLaren 13 ahead of the French marque, which itself is only six points clear of Ferrari.
“For sure now we are the underdog but it is still doable,” he said.
“There are still three races, if there was only one race left or even two I would be more pessimistic. But we can still do it.
“It is a shame that there was a big swing [in Turkey]. It does sting, we cannot deny that. But with three races to go we still have a chance to pull it off.
“Although the races will be dry there will still be a bit going on. Bahrain is a tight Turn 1, and maybe Sergio [Perez] and Lance [Stroll] want to get into each other! We will see!”
Ricciardo expressed frustration at how Renault’s race unravelled in Turkey.
“The start was really good but I had come out of it because I had nowhere to go,” he said.
“Then Esteban had a nice run because of it on the outside, and Lewis [Hamilton] had a nice [run] on the inside and I was a little bit of a sandwich.
“It was a bit of a shame for sure, but then there were moments in the race where we had a bit of pace but just not consistently. That was the biggest thing.
“There was a moment when Carol, my engineer, said you’re one of the quickest on track, and then two laps later the tyre completely died. So we did not have sustainable race pace to fight anybody.”
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