F1 Belgian GP: Daniel Ricciardo delivers as Lewis Hamilton points out Red Bull flaw

There was plenty of praise for Daniel Ricciardo after his stunning Belgian GP, while a rival pointed out how much his absence is hurting Red Bull.

Daniel Ricciardo was all smiles after the race.

Daniel Ricciardo was all smiles after capping off his brilliant weekend with a blistering fourth-placed finish at the Belgian Grand Prix.

The Aussie F1 star recorded the fastest lap of the race by any driver in his final run around the Spa-Francorchamps circuit as he celebrated a return to form after disappointing 11th and 14th placings in his past two grands prix.

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Lewis Hamilton scored another win for Mercedes while teammate Valtteri Bottas was second, followed by Ricciardo’s former Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen in third.

It was easily Renault’s best day of the year as Esteban Ocon crossed the line one spot behind Ricciardo in fifth.

“What a race and definitely an excellent result for the team,” Ricciardo said. “It’s been a while since I’ve had the fastest lap of the race, so that was also nice.

“My engineer told me what the current fastest was and I thought. ‘I got this!’ It was a proper big lap; I used all the track and went for it. Maybe it was better than my qualifying lap yesterday!”

Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul wasn’t getting carried away but was still pleased with the weekend.

“We knew Spa would suit our package and there were big points at stake. We executed our plan all the way through the weekend,” he said.

“In addition to the strong finishing positions that brings us closer to the teams ahead in the championship, the fastest lap today by Daniel rounds off in style the result and I see that as a reward to everyone in Viry who has been working so hard for several years to get on top of the complexity of the power unit.”

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Ricciardo had every reason to show off his pearly whites.

Ricciardo was hunting Verstappen in the dying stages as he chased his first podium in Renault colours, but the safety car put an end to that dream.

“I got a little bit frustrated by (Pierre) Gasly and (Sergio) Perez’s strategy (staying out on the safety car), it put a buffer between Max and myself on the restart so without that, I genuinely think we could have stayed with him on the hards (tyres),” Ricciardo said.

“Whether we could have passed I don’t know but we could have had a much better chance.

“I was trying to overtake and if he passed me later then so be it but it wasn’t worth putting myself out in the first few corners. I was there and I was trying but keeping that one per cent of maturity and discipline in me.”

‘WHAT A HERO’

F1 presenter Matt Gallagher tweeted: “What a SENSATIONAL drive from Ricciardo this afternoon!! Easily driver of the day.”

Motorsport journalist Luke Smith added: “Ricciardo with the fastest lap on the final lap!!! What a hero!”

English reporter Joe Krishnan said if the race was a lap longer then Ricciardo would have been on the podium, while Andrew Benson of the BBC said the West Australian drove an “excellent” race.

HAMILTON: TEAMMATE COSTING VERSTAPPEN BIG TIME

Max Verstappen needs more help from his teammate.

Ricciardo quit Red Bull at the end of 2018 in part because of concerns the team was favouring young gun Verstappen ahead of him, and Lewis Hamilton believes the Dutchman is struggling without the Aussie by his side.

Verstappen is second in the drivers’ championship and teammate Alex Albon is fourth. Red Bull is second in the constructors’ standings but Hamilton doesn’t think Verstappen is getting enough help from his colleague — who was sixth in Belgium and has only finished in the top four once all season.

“I think the Red Bulls have got a very good car,” Hamilton told Sky Sports’ Rachel Brookes. “People downplay it but they’ve got a very, very strong car and Max is doing a great job with it.

“Unfortunately, both drivers aren’t there like me and Valtteri are there.

“That makes it harder for them. I experienced it many years ago with McLaren and I was the driver that was always at the front and didn’t have a teammate backing up so you equally don’t get the constructors’ points, and then can’t play with strategy on the cars they are racing against.

“So he (Verstappen) is kind of there on his own.”

Sky Sports pundit Paul Di Resta agreed, adding: “That could have been the difference today. If you had another car behind Max, you could have made Mercedes uncomfortable. That’s where two cars versus one makes a big difference.”