Daniel Ricciardo says the Renault F1 Team are looking “to build some momentum” as they head to Hockenheim for the 2019 German Grand Prix on the back of a strong result last time out.
The previous race at Silverstone saw Ricciardo finish a fine seventh in what was just his fourth point-scoring race of the season so far. As the Formula 1 circus heads towards its annual summer break in just two races time, Ricciardo wants to finish the first half of the season on a high, starting with the “fun” Hockenheim.
“Hockenheim is a fun circuit and I’ve always loved racing there throughout my career,” says Ricciardo. “Turn 1 is super-fast and there are some cool corner combinations to dig into especially in sector three in the stadium.
“There are some good overtaking spots too especially at the hairpin after the burst of full throttle. It’s a cool track and one I’ve always seemed to go well at.
“The German crowd is always electric too, they are very loud and passionate for motorsport. I also like schnitzels, so we have some of them to look forward to!”
Ricciardo heads to Germany tenth in the drivers’ standings on twenty-two points, courtesy in particular of the six points scored at Silverstone, but the Australian wants more before Formula 1 breaks for the summer.
“Firstly, it was very good for the team to make a strong recovery after a couple of rounds which fell below our expectations,” says Ricciardo. “We knew we could have had slightly more but we were unlucky with the timing of the Safety Car.
“Overall it was an encouraging result but we want to build some momentum for Germany and then again for Hungary before we break for the summer.
“It’s an important time as we know how closely fought the midfield is and we have to score regularly not only to keep tabs with our rivals but also to do better than them.”
Riccardo and the rest of the F1 fraternity head to Hockenheim after a busy period, with three races and the Goodwood Festival of Speed taking place over four weekend, with only last week free, in which Ricciardo set his focus to performing in Germany.
“It was our first weekend off for a little while as we had France, Austria, Goodwood and Silverstone all across the last four weeks.
“We did a bit of training, kept it quiet and routine with all our focus on this next race.
“We have a few things to assess for Germany but the team is working really hard to prepare and put ourselves in the best possible position.”
