Daniel Ricciardo says Renault blew a golden opportunity at Sakhir GP

Daniel Ricciardo says one blunder in particular meant Renault shot itself in the foot and cost him the perfect shot at another podium.

Daniel Ricciardo lamented a missed opportunity as the Aussie rued what could have been while his teammate celebrated the best day of his career.

Renault colleague Esteban Ocon was in tears after securing his first ever F1 podium with a second-placed finish at the Sakhir Grand Prix, behind maiden race-winner Sergio Perez and ahead of fellow Racing Point driver Lance Stroll, while Ricciardo was fifth.

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Lewis Hamilton was out of the race after contracting COVID-19 and a “colossal” stuff up from Mercedes saw replacement driver George Russell cross the line ninth, while Valtteri Bottas was eighth as mix-ups in pit lane cost the Silver Arrows dearly.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc both retired after a collision which, along with the Mercedes horror show, opened the door for some new stars to swoop in.

While fifth would normally be a pleasing effort from Ricciardo in his Renault, given the amount of top-line drivers out of the running, he was gutted to miss out on the perfect chance for his third podium of the season.

A mix-up of his own in pit lane, when Renault called him in too late after the Aussie had already zoomed past the entry, allowed Daniil Kvyat to undercut him and from there Ricciardo was always facing an uphill battle.

“To be honest it was scrappy, it was a scrappy race from our side I felt,” Ricciardo told Sky Sports.

“I got called into the pits, I was already past the pit entry so I couldn’t pit and then Kvyat undercut us, so we gave him a freebie and spent that whole second sim behind him.

“I just felt every lap we were behind him, the race was getting away from us.”

What could have been.

Perez’s first win came after some early drama that saw him bumped by another car, sending him into the pits for an unscheduled check-up. Other drivers’ mishaps kept his race alive but Ricciardo said failing to take advantage of the Mexican’s early trouble didn’t reflect well on the rest of the grid — Renault included.

“It’s tough because I’m fifth, normally that’s a good result — and Esteban second, so congrats to him — but obviously when you see our (Racing Point) rivals first and third, and I heard Perez was in the pits in lap one,” Ricciardo said.

“Obviously congrats to Perez but for all of us, a car that pits on lap one, you can’t let him win the race.

“I feel we all missed out today.

“It’s probably the most disappointing fifth I’ve had in a while.

“I’ll try and shake this one off and finish strong. Again, second and fifth is a huge day for the team, but we’ll try and do first and second next week.”

Ricciardo was down in the dumps.

Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul was thrilled for Ocon but echoed Ricciardo’s sentiment the race was a missed opportunity.

“Bit bittersweet because I feel that we could have done slightly better with Daniel and obviously from a championship perspective it doesn’t really help our case much,” he told Sky.

The final race of the season takes place in Dubai next weekend and it will be Ricciardo’s last outing for Renault after he signed with McLaren for 2021.

Fifth in the constructors’ championship, the French outfit is 12 points behind McLaren and 22 points behind Racing Point, who solidified a third-placed standing after Perez and Stroll’s podium in Bahrain.

Renault’s goal was always to be the best of the midfield and third, behind Mercedes and Red Bull, was a real hope as Ferrari imploded this year. But McLaren’s consistency, Racing Point’s emergence as a genuine threat and a failure to capitalise in Bahrain with Ricciardo means Renault needs something special in Dubai to jump into the top three.

SAKHIR GRAND PRIX RESULTS — TOP 10

1. Sergio Perez, Racing Point

2. Esteban Ocon, Renault

3. Lance Stroll, Racing Point

4. Carlos Sainz, McLaren

5. Daniel Ricciardo, Renault

6. Alexander Albon, Red Bull

7. Daniil Kvyat, AlphaTauri

8. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes

9. George Russell, Mercedes

10. Lando Norris, McLaren