Renault team principal Cyril Abiteboul has revealed Daniel Ricciardo's arrival last year put pressure on the French works team to perform, forcing the team to work extra hard to meet the new expectations.
Ricciardo's debut year with Renault was not a good one, with the team being blown away in the midfield battle by McLaren as they finished fifth. There were highlights like the seven-time Grand Prix winner's P4 at Monza.
Having signed the Aussie on from a race-winning team in Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, the 30-year-old brought expectations with him when he made the switch, but Abiteboul likes that
"I praise what Daniel has pushed the team to do," the Frenchman told Autosport.
"But he put pressure on the team with the expectations he created in the media sphere by joining the team.
"It's what we wanted, but he creates a huge amount of expectation, way above what we promised.
"And by doing that it has led to a reaction from the team when we saw we were not at the required level."