Ricciardo confident another podium possible before Renault exit

Daniel Ricciardo is confident he can land another podium for Renault before his departure to McLaren at the end of this year.

The Australian ended the French manufacturer's nine-year wait for a top-three finish when he claimed third at the Eifel Grand Prix last time out at the Nürburgring.

It was also Ricciardo's first podium since he won the Monaco Grand Prix for Red Bull two and a half years ago.

With Renault and Ricciardo on the rise, the 31-year-old sees no reason why the feat cannot be repeated at one of the final six races of this season.

"It was a great feeling standing on the podium," said Ricciardo. "It felt like it was my first time up there all over again.

"It felt special as it was definitely coming. We’ve had a couple of fourth places this year, so close to third, and it felt like it would happen.

"Persistence pays off and I’m really happy for the team and the hard work everyone has been putting in for a few years now.

"We’re not finished yet, though. I think there’s another one in us before the year is out. We won’t stop working and we won’t just rest on this. We have a target in sight."

After finally winning a bet with team principal Cyril Abiteboul that the Frenchman would get a tattoo if Ricciardo scored a podium, he added: "In the meantime, we also need to work on Cyril’s tattoo!"

Ricciardo heads into this weekend's Portuguese Grand Prix on a natural high but also with "good memories" of Portimão's Algarve International Circuit that will be used for the first time in F1 for a race weekend.

"The first time I raced there was in 2009 in British Formula 3, and I wrapped up the title there that year," explained Ricciardo.

"It was the penultimate round, I was on the podium in the first race then I finished fifth in the second race, but it was good enough to take the title.

"Earlier that year, I had my first taste of a Formula Renault 3.5 car there too. It’s a circuit I really enjoyed back then, so I’m sure it’ll be even better in a modern Formula 1 car.

"There’s some good elevation and fast, flowing corners to get into. It’s a very exciting track.

"The weather should be much warmer than at the Nürburgring, so I’ll be back to my usual smiling self. We should have a normal Friday programme to run through and we’ll be aiming to get into it from the off and aim for some solid points."

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