Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo is confident his team will soon start to compete after they impressed at the Canadian Grand Prix at the start of June.

Ricciardo and team-mate Nico Hulkenberg battled bravely to secure sixth and seventh to help Renault pick up their first double-points haul of the season.

Their impressive performance allowed Renault to move up to fifth in the Constructors’ Championship and they are now breathing down the necks of rivals McLaren.

Former Red Bull driver Ricciardo is now up to eighth in the drivers’ standings and the Aussie is ready to kick-start his season at this weekend’s French Grand Prix.

“It was great to see the positivity on everyone’s faces after the race,” Ricciardo told Planet F1.

“We entered the season with a lot of expectation on us and I think we’re really starting to come up and show our true pace. I’m glad the team enjoyed a strong weekend as it’s been stressful at times, but we kept working and now I’m optimistic this is the start of heading on the right path.

“There’s clearly a lot more work to do to catch up to our expectations, but fighting with the front three for a part of the Canada race was a lot of fun.

“I’m really looking forward to embracing the French atmosphere and hopefully doing the team proud. I know it’s a significant race for them and how much it means to everyone involved. We have some upgrades, which should mean the start of a trend of our true pace.

“It’s coming along well and, as the car gets better, I’m also growing in confidence and I’ll keep getting better with it.” Ricciardo is 1.50 to record a top-10 finish, while he is 29.00 to finish on the podium.