Ricciardo finding 'better direction' with Renault F1 car

Daniel Ricciardo says he is finding a “better direction” with Renault’s R.S.19 Formula 1 car as he looks to bounce back from a difficult start to the 2019 season at this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix.

Former Red Bull driver Ricciardo failed to make it through to Q3 in either of his first two races for Renault, and is yet to pick up any points this year.

The Australian previously spoke of how he was overdriving and struggling to feel comfortable with Renault’s car, but felt he made progress during Friday’s running in China as he broke into the top 10 in both FP1 and FP2.

“It is coming. It is there in moments,” Ricciardo said of his growing comfort with the car.

“I’d say this morning was actually better for me. The afternoon less so. For sure when I do feel at one with it, I feel like I can get it going. So we just got that going more consistently.

“The afternoon, we did drop off a bit. Still not really sure why. We didn’t change that much. This morning immediately I felt quite confident on the brakes, which certainly Bahrain I was not where I wanted to be. So that was positive.

“These are things we tested during the Bahrain test. Some little things here and there that are helping towards a better direction.”

Asked if Renault could pull ahead in the tight midfield fight, Ricciardo said: “We will see. We’ll have to make some improvements overnight to reaffirm that confidence.

“I think tomorrow we can have a good day. We have to put it all together, and it is so close in that midfield, but confident we will get it right.”