Daniel Ricciardo says he is "stoked" he could lift Renault to some impressive results in 2020 as he prepares to set sail for McLaren ahead of next season.
The Aussie F1 favourite rounded out his final race with Renault Racing this morning with a seventh-place finish at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, after joining the team in a high-profile move away from Red Bull in 2019.
After a torrid first year on the grid, Ricciardo defied odds to turn the team's fortunes around amid a COVID-affected 2020, stringing together a series of impressive performances that included two podiums and eleven consecutive points finishes.
Placing fifth overall in the Drivers Championship, Ricciardo managed to also bag the fastest lap in his final lap ever with Renault, rounding out a memorable few months and a rollercoaster couple of years.
"I was pretty stoked, I think the year, in general, was really nice, it was strong. At the end we pushed for fastest lap so it was a nice little send-off," Ricciardo said.
"I'm personally happy with how it ended for me. I feel I did all I could, and obviously for me now the bonus is I walk into a team that got third so it's a big day as well.
"I know we didn't manage to finish third in the Constructors' Championship but, overall, it's been a strong season for the team and compared to last year it's a great step forward.
"My last lap in the car was the fastest on track and I was pushing hard for that. Very nice! Merci beaucoup to the team for an awesome two years."
With McLaren finishing third in the Constructors Championship for the first time in eight years, Ricciardo couldn't have picked a better time to join a team poised to make a play on F1's heavyweights.
New Mercedes power units will be used in McLaren's vehicles in 2021, and the recent confirmation of a $325 million dollar investment from a US-consortium has the team brimming with optimism ahead of Ricciardo's arrival.
"Not at all," Ricciardo joked when asked if was eager to join new teammate Lando Norris at McLaren.
"It's a team that showed so much promise last year, and they've backed it up and some this year. Getting fourth last year was a statement and then getting up to third this year.
"So, I think it's a team with a lot of momentum. And I'm looking forward to it. I'm not really going to start anytime soon, I just want a few weeks off and switch Formula One off for a little bit, but I'm hanging out to get started mid-January sometime."
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