Daniel Ricciardo praises engine upgrades for teams’ ‘real qualifying mode’

It may have been more of a nightmare start to Daniel Ricciardo’s time in Renault but a small change has made a huge difference.

Ricciardo had a tough finish in Monaco.

Aussie F1 star Daniel Ricciardo has been a beacon of positivity for Renault’s tough start to the season but finally, he may have something to be optimistic about.

The 30-year-old was undoubtedly disappointed despite his second points finish of the year in Monaco, grabbing ninth after an early pit stop on the safety car saw him stuck behind the slow moving Kimi Raikkonen who refused to pit.

Renault as a team are languishing down in eighth in the constructors championship.

But the affable Ricciardo still has a smile on his face after he noticed a big improvement in the car in Monte Carlo.

It comes after Renault team boss Cyril Abiteboul revealed he was confident engine upgrades would help his drivers’ performance after the team uncovered a conrod issue in the Nico Hulkenberg’s Bahrain retirement, updating the engines before the Spanish GP.

While the team kept power in reserve in Spain, it unleashed some more power in Monaco.

Ricciardo said the difference was immediate, feeling the team has turned a massive corner for the season.

“Both Nico and I complimented the Renault boys and our qualifying mode felt pretty strong,” Ricciardo told F1.com. “My reference from last year, I am pulling an extra gear before some apexes. So definitely a year on it is a lot better. We actually have a real qualifying mode this year.”

At Monaco, Ricciardo started from sixth on the grid, moving up a position after Pierre Gasly was dropped to eighth on the grid for blocking Haas’ Romain Grosjean on his flying lap at the end of Q2.

Daniel Ricciardo was all smiles after an improved performance.

It’s a telling statement from Ricciardo to feel the difference on the narrow streets of Monaco, while Hulkenberg said the engine had “come back to life” after the upgrades.

“They found solutions very quickly, redesigned, re-engineered, and brought the fixes to the track,” he said. “That was quite impressive, and you can feel again that the engine has come back to life and we can fully fight again. So that’s very positive.”

Ricciardo was clearly unhappy with his finish in Monaco at the time.

He entered at 12th overall and desperate for another strong performance

“It’s frustrating,” he said. “I have to sit down with the team to understand the reasoning behind that. I’m upset but I’ll try and get an understanding before I lose my s***.”

Abiteboul said the team still has plenty to learn.

“After the good qualifying yesterday, we thought a big part of the job had been done,” he the team boss said. “Unfortunately, the single most important decision of the day was to stop Daniel under the safety car. It turned out to be the wrong one, on the basis that it gave McLaren the opportunity to execute a smart team strategy with Norris and Sainz. A small positive is that we return to the points, but the bigger positive is that the car has demonstrated its potential, not just on the short runs yesterday but on the longer runs today.”

Daniel Ricciardo can sense a change at Renault.

But as the season moves on to Canada next weekend, a place that holds a special place in Ricciardo’s heart as the location of his first F1 win in 2014, the Aussie star is confident of another positive performance.

And with the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve course rewarding extra power, the increased engine capabilities have come at the perfect time.

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The “qualifying speed” Ricciardo was mentioned could set up the race with the last four winners coming from the pole-sitter.

Canadian Grand Prix: Pole to Wins. 🇨🇦

It’s a track where a strong qualifying afternoon is imperative. 4 out of the last 5 pole-sitters have gone onto win the race. 💨#F1 #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/j1wYU7xw0a

— GPblog_com (@GPblog_com) May 30, 2019

“I feel that it is in the right direction now, and the nice thing is there is still more to come,” Ricciardo said. “The reliability is what is going to hold us up from going that step further.

“That is what is going to hold us back from going that step further, but we could squeeze a bit more this weekend. Even on a low power circuit you could feel it. So there are some positives.”