MOTORSPORT: Ricciardo close to podium

Daniel Ricciardo has had his best result of the Formula 1 season with Renault, finishing fourth in a “crazy” end to the British Grand Prix.

“Maybe with a couple more laps we could have had a podium,” Ricciardo said after crossing the line little more than a second behind Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari.

Tyre failures robbed Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas and McLaren’s Carlos Sainz of points, but Hamilton hung on after his left-front delaminated with half a lap to go to take the chequered flag ahead of charging Max Verstappen’s Red Bull-Honda.

It was Brit Hamilton’s seventh Formula 1 win at Silverstone, bettering French great Alain Prost’s six victories in his home race.

Mercedes has won all four GPs this year and Hamilton the past three to be only four behind Michael Schumacher’s 91 – the record he could equal at Monza next month and break a week later at Ferrari-owned Mugello.

Renault remains sixth in the constructors’ championship but last night’s 20 points from Ricciardo’s fourth and Esteban Ocon’s sixth was its best haul since returning to F1 in 2016.

Team principal Cyril Abiteboul said it was “a very strong performance” but Renault “must keep working on high-speed corners – that’s our weakness compared to direct rivals”.

carsales global ambassador Ricciardo said that coming so close to a first podium with the French team after his seven wins in six years at Red Bull Racing “feels really cool”.

It was his best result since he was fourth at Monza last September and came after he qualified eighth.

“We made a good start, jumped up to sixth and we showed decent pace,” Ricciardo said.

“At the safety car restart I was close to Carlos [Sainz] but didn’t have enough and that allowed Lando [Norris, the other McLaren driver who will be Ricciardo’s teammate next year when he goes there] to have a run on me.

“I missed out there. That was a bit frustrating, but it came back to us at the end.

“The race really came alive and that was really good … crazy.

“We had some pace at the end and I was able to get Lando and then Carlos had a problem.

“I saw Charles [Leclerc] getting closer [in front] and maybe with a couple more laps we could have had a podium.

“We were assisted by some chaos, but we were definitely a top six car today and that’s pleasing.

“We have another chance next week [when Silverstone hosts another GP to celebrate F1’s 70th ‘birthday’].”

Ricciardo now has 20 points for the season, equal eighth with Lance Stroll of Racing Point, which brought in Nico Hulkenberg in place of Sergio Perez, sidelined by a positive Covid-19 test, but the German’s car didn’t even make the start.

Hamilton has 88 points, Bottas 58, Verstappen 52, Norris 36, Leclerc 33, Red Bull’s Alex Albon 26 and Perez 22, while Ocon is equal 11th on 12 and Ferrari’s departing Sebastian Vettel is only 16th with 10.

In the highly-competitive Formula 3 Championship, young Australian Oscar Piastri is 17 points clear of American Logan Sargeant, his teammate in the Prema squad.

Victorian Piastri was second to New Zealand’s Liam Lawson (Hitech team) in one race at Silvestone but retired from the other with a jammed drag reduction system.

Fellow Aussie Alex Peroni (Campos team) was fourth in that reverse-grid race – the Tasmanian’s best finish in his comeback from last season’s huge crash at Monza.

Queenslander Jack Doohan and West Australian Calan Williams are yet to score a point.

Next weekend’s IndyCar double-header at Mid-Ohio has been postponed because of the pandemic, making the next round the Indianapolis 500 on August 23.

Australia’s Will Power, who won the 500 in 2018, is fifth in this year’s series behind New Zealand’s five-time champion Scott Dixon.