Daniel Ricciardo believes that Renault is still lagging behind the top teams of Formula 1 despite appearing to make a step forward at the Canadian Grand Prix.
With Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas suffering separate qualifying woes, it was Ricciardo who capitalised best to line-up fourth for Sunday's race, ahead of the man who replaced him at Red Bull, Pierre Gasly.
Although Ricciardo eventually lost out on the position to Verstappen in the race, the Australian was pleased with the team's result with teammate Nico Hulkenberg following home in seventh.
“I did all I could out there and I’m happy with the end result," Ricciardo said.
"It’s the team’s first double points of the year and it’s a big one in sixth and seventh, and we can’t ask for anything more than that. There are definitely positive signs this weekend."
Despite the apparent forward step, Ricciardo acknowledged there is still ground to make up to reach the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari.
"We know the top teams are superior at this stage, but still, it was a lot of fun to battle Valtteri [Bottas] for a few laps out there.
"We’re realistic in our approach, but the team should be proud of this weekend. They have that drive and determination to push on now and that’s really encouraging.”
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