2020 Formula 1 VTB Russian Grand Prix, Saturday
Renault DP World F1 Team will line up with both cars inside the top ten on the grid for tomorrow’s VTB Russian Grand Prix with Daniel Ricciardo fifth and Esteban Ocon seventh in qualifying at the Sochi Autodrom.
Daniel Ricciardo, #3, R.S.20-01, Q: P5, 1:32.364, FP3: P10, 1:34.787
“Overall, I’m happy with fifth position for tomorrow. I knew we weren’t in contention for pole position, but after the Q2 lap it felt like third or fourth was in reach. That lap in Q2 was perfect, so I knew it was going to be hard to improve on that. I did struggle a little more in Q3 and probably could have improved my time, but I am happy with where we ended up. I haven’t normally been strong at this circuit so to be quick all weekend is a positive. We can definitely race tomorrow so it should be fun.”
Esteban Ocon, #31, R.S.20-04, Q: P7, 1:32.624, DNF, FP3: P4, 1:34.239
“I think it’s a very decent result today. We’ve shown great pace this weekend and it’s definitely been strong with the car performing quite well. On my side, I’m happy with the result and the car was really good through all three sessions. All in all, we’re in the fight for tomorrow, so that’s very positive. It’s great to be starting where we are, and we can have a look at the cars in front. We’re going to be in the mix to fight, so it’s going to be interesting tomorrow. I think anything is possible and we are in good shape to race.”
Alan Permane, Sporting Director:
“It was a good qualifying for us with Daniel fifth and Esteban seventh. It was action-packed through the field and across all three sessions. It’s nice to feel disappointed with fifth as, arguably, we could have been fourth with Daniel had he repeated his lap from Q2. That was almost a perfect lap and he couldn’t quite get there in Q3. We’re in good shape for tomorrow with both cars well inside the top ten. We’ll be looking for a very good points haul and to continue our decent form in races.”