Renault aiming for 'good points' thanks to strong race pace

Renault drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon are confident of securing a heavy bag of points in Sunday's British Grand Prix thanks to the strong race pace of their R.S.20.

Ricciardo and Ocon enjoyed a trouble-free qualifying on Saturday, with both drivers gaining access to Q3 and setting the 8th and 9th fastest times respectively.

"We’re very happy to have both cars in Q3, of course, and we have promising starting positions on the grid. Now, we look forward to a trouble-free race tomorrow," said Renault sporting director Alan Permane.

"Our race pace, as ever, looks very strong from our Friday simulations, so we will look to capitalise on our start positions and make sure we score decent points in the race."

• British GP: Saturday's action in pictures

Ricciardo was happy with his final effort in Q3, highlighting Silverstone's windy conditions.

"I’m happy with eighth place, especially in quite tricky conditions," he said.

"It was a clean lap, no mistakes, nothing too spectacular but good enough for eighth and just short of seventh.

"It was pretty close there with a few of us within half a second of each other. We’ve been in and around the top 10 all weekend so we can be pleased with today’s performance.

"Tomorrow’s race will be interesting, especially in the battle for sixth or maybe fifth position. We are starting on the soft tyres, as are most people around us, so we’ll see what we can do. Taking home good points is the target."

Ocon also saw his Saturday afternoon session in a positive light. However, the Frenchman's spot on the grid was put in jeopardy after qualifying when he was summoned to the stewards for allegedly blocking Kimi Raikkonen in Q1.

But the stewards eventually gave the Renault charger a free pass.

"It was a very positive session, especially Q1 and Q2 when we were quite comfortable," he commented. "We lost it a little bit in Q3, so we will review what happened there.

"I’m happy with the progress from Hungary and we need to keep going.

"We seem to have better pace on Sundays, and qualifying has been the area where we’ve needed to find the most improvements.

"We’re in amongst the top 10 and we have a good opportunity for some decent points."

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