Ricciardo: Japanese GP DSQ will motivate Renault

Daniel Ricciardo says the Renault Formula 1 team will use its Japanese Grand Prix disqualification as motivation to end the 2019 season on a high.

The French manufacturer had both its cars excluded from the final result at Suzuka after both cars were found to be running with illegal driver aids relating to the braking system.

As a result, the team lost the nine points scored by Ricciardo’s sixth place finish and Nico Hulkenberg’s run to 10th. Renault has now fallen 43 points behind midfield rivals McLaren in the battle to claim fourth spot in the constructors’ standings with just four races remaining.

“We’re angry and frustrated, but as a team we are like ‘screw this and let’s go get these points we lost’, so it’s motivation,” Ricciardo said ahead of this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix.

“You use the bad days as motivation I think that’s the best thing and the good days you appreciate them.

“The race was nearly two weeks ago - I did what I could in the race to have a good one, I thought the race was a good one so obviously yeah the points are gone now but there was nothing I could have done differently or whatever.

“We have to brush it off and move forward,” he added.

“If we keep dwelling on the misfortunes or whatever circumstances we’ve had this year then we’ll probably always feel sorry for ourselves.”

Ricciardo feels that a combination of bad luck and decisions that have gone against Renault has prevented the team from gaining any real momentum in 2019.

“I do feel like this year it’s been tough for us to get momentum and coming in as a team with pretty high expectations to build on what they had last year, and it hasn’t really been that way so far,” he explained.

“And when we do get something going something like this happens or my penalty in Singapore. It’s been hard for us to have momentum and have a real string of races.

“I feel like something always seems to be getting in the way. But again, if we just sit here and say poor us then we aren’t really going to move forwards. There’s nothing else to do.

“We’ve got a double-header and I think for everyone in the paddock this is probably the favourite double-header of the year so I think we just use that happiness and positivity to try and get some good results.”