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Renault: Ricciardo arrival feels like Alonso glory years

Renault: Ricciardo arrival feels like Alonso glory years

07-01-2019 10:32
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Daniel Ricciardo's move to Renault for the 2019 season has left Renault feeling upbeat and as if they were back to their title-winning ways when Fernando Alonso was at the team. 

Ricciardo's move to Renault was one of the shock signings in Formula 1 last season with many believing that Ricciardo was good enough to land a deal with Mercedes or Ferrari. 

Reflecting on the signing of Ricciardo, Abiteboul said that his team's reaction in the factories in England and France harked back to the French car manufacturer's glory years with Alonso in 2005 and 2006.

"It was obviously a huge relief, fantastic news – and the way it was welcomed in the factories at Viry and Enstone was just amazing," Abiteboul told Motorsport.com.

"It was a fantastic moment. I have never seen a reaction like that in either of the two factories. It was reminding me of the titles with Fernando Alonso in 2005 and 2006.

"We have not won anything, but there is this feeling that now we are really on a trajectory to be able to win something. We really feel now this obligation to come up with an engine and a chassis that will be capable of giving what that guy deserves."

Ricciardo's move to Renault was obviously a massive boost for the team but Abiteboul has said that having a race winner at the team increases the pressure. 

"I don't want to feel what McLaren must have felt with Fernando over the past few years." 

Renault has made it clear that they are not going to be the same sort of team as Red Bull and Ricciardo himself will play an important role in the development of the car. It is for this reason that many believe that this move to Renault will pay off in the next few years as they climb back to the top of Formula 1.