Daniel Ricciardo

I noticed young Daniel didn't have his own thread so thought I'd give him on as sure he'll be around for a good few years.

Born in 1989 (that makes him 22 before you do the maths) this aussie started karting at the age of 9 and in 2005 entered the Western Australian Formula Ford Championship as a privateer driving a car that was 15 years old at the time and managed to finish 8th. He won a scholarship to compete in Formula BMW Asia the following year. As we all know he eventually became involved in the Red Bull young driver programme after winning the British Formula 3 championship in 2009.

Became Red Bull's test driver and has now stepped up to drive for HRT. Has been really hyped as the next big thing by the Red Bull team and the press. Eddie Jordan described him as a future world champion before he'd even done his first Grand Prix. The truth is though he has not set the world alight at HRT. How can one set the world alight at HRT I hear you ask to which I say - good point! Although he has beaten Liuzzi twice already in the races I believe he needs to get on top of him in quali too. Also he's being beaten by quite a way in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series by both Robert Wickens and Jean-Eric Vergne.

So Ricciardo - future number 1 or going going gone?

 

[siffert_fan]

IMO DR is the equal of Hamilton, Vettel, Max etc and I believe that, in equal equipment and with no favoritism being shown, would quite likely embarrass the above mentioned. There is little doubt that RB has been favouring Max since they hired him, lest they look like idiots for lavishing so much money on him.

I would love to see DR, at the very least, finish ahead of Max next year. Given the Mercedes advantage (so great that, IMO they may have been stage-managing results to make the Red Menace appear more competitive than they really are. Notice the instant .5 sec/lap advantage they have suddenly come up with?), it is doubtful that anything more than that lies in the realm of wishful thinking.

 

[RasputinLives]

You think Max is on same level as Hamilton and Vettel? I'm not sure I've seen the evidence to suggest he can get anywhere near either or them over the course of a season.

 

[siffert_fan]

No I don't, but the RB team clearly does. I named him because I was naming the number one driver for each of the top three teams.

 

[cider_and_toast]

In terms of driving ability, I'd say Danny is as good as any driver at the front end of the grid. Where he is lacking, and why he'll never be a WDC in my opinion, is that he's not a ruthless git. That's the 5 percent on top of talent that makes the difference between an extremely talented driver (Berger, De Angelis, Peterson and Warwick for example) and a World Champion (Hamilton, Lauda, Senna etc).

Very occasionally, less ruthless guys do win the WDC but the effort in doing it knackers them out (Damon, Hakkinen and Rosberg).

The dangerous drivers are those that are ruthless gits with less talent than their rivals. Verstappen could be in that category.

 

[Clay]

The current Red Bull line-up reminds me of Hamilton and Alonso in 2007. Ricciardo is the more experienced and less error prone driver, while Verstappen has the upper hand on him when it comes to qualifying and race pace, but is slightly more like to make a mistake, e.g. attacking or defending at all costs.
Both careers are wasted at Red Bull at this stage or in Ricciardo’s case at Renault next season because they won’t be competing with Mercedes and Ferrari for some time. The Honda though does seem to be on par with Renault and we’ll have to wait and see how the relationship between Honda and Red Bull pans out.

 

[vintly]

Except Ricciardo isn't a two-time world champion. Or even a one-time. Or ever will be. But essentially I agree Clay.

Max is I think getting a great start at Red Bull - he's in a decent car but not at risk of losing a close-run world championship. It's a very safe place to be - until very soon, when he'll need to get a wiggle on and start racking up trophies. When he is in a title-winning car I think he'll do just fine.

 

[RasputinLives]

I'm still unsure about Max. Big talent no doubt but I just think 'Jean Alesi' everytime I see him. Will be happy for him to prove me wrong though.

Danny Ric? I just think Nigel Mansell. Amazing charges and can beat the best on his day. Will be loved by nearly everyone but will never be talked about as one of the 'true' greats.

 

[gethinceri]

Very soon the #1 seat at Merc or Ferrari will be availavle and Verstappen will get it.

 

[siffert_fan]

Max reminds me most of Gilles V.....spectacular at times but too wild to ever be a WDC.

I have also heard that setting up a car is not his forte, so, when he completely fouls it up, they put DR's settings on Max's car for the race, since DR excels at set-up.

 

[Il_leone]

RasputinLives You could compare Max to Andre De Cesaris I mean how many chassis has he junked ? the other day they talked about Marcus Ericsson being involved in 11 accidents in 5 seasons saying that is not a great record for an F1 driver . I guess no one is mentioning Max' accident rate lately because he is a on a fat pay

--------------------
Ricciardo does seem to have the worst of the reliability issue and really let it out that a piece about 8cm broke made from the team he is about to join. I have to say its more an installation issue in that Red Bull want the engine to suit their chassis but there are small differences between their chassis and Team Enstone's which is causing reliability issues

 

[F1Brits_90]

 

[220]

I think the switch to renault is a very smart one.
No doubt he wants to be world champion and I think he finally realised it would not happen at RB. Unlikely they will be fighting for a championship this year or next and it they did find themselves in the position he would be trying to win it as the #2 driver even if the official line is they are treated equally.

At renault he is the #1 no one expects them to win races and a podium this year would probably enhance his value more than a win in the RB. He has got his big pay day for 2 years while waiting for the new regs and lottery of which team will get on top of them first.

 

[Angel]

Welcome to the forum 220 I hope you enjoy your time here

Ricciardo saw that RB have decided Max is their chosen one, leaving was his only real option in that situation. He is in a good position at Renault, so long as Hulkenberg doesn't beat him that is, if that happens he could well wish he hadn't gone there either as his stock will drop big time.

 

[Titch]

Hi 220 .

I’m a huge Danny Ric fan, but I agree with the earlier post by cider_and_toast , he doesn’t have the extra 5% ruthless streak. There have been moments when he’s come close, but he doesn’t keep that ruthlessness going.

 

[Il_leone]

Ricciardo is the smiling assassin but so far he has not done a Vettel where he deliberately ignored team orders to screw his teammate. Verstappen we've seen is pretty much going to screw over anybody to get to the top and backed by Red Bull in his quest to be youngest world champion. It is good PR for Red Bull

Ricciardo knew the writing was on the wall after Baku and Austria where both occasions Verstappen got off lightly . Renault okay was not great today but if they get their resources sorted out in the right areas they will be a force to be reckoned with.

 

[vintly]

Ricciardo was hasty in Baku, with his experience he should have known better than try to harry Verstspoen in that situation. Ricciardo fans (or anti-Max synpathisers) may view that differently of course.

The pro-Max bias at RB when Ricciardo was there was perhaps evident in some ways, but the fact of the matter is that there is always a bias towards the faster of the two team-mates in any team. This is normal, unavoidable and sensible. If Ric had stayed and beaten Max this year he would have been the favoured one, not Max. But either he knew he was slower, or he bottled the challenge. Perfect fit for Renault for now, good luck to him.

 

[Il_leone]

Well if Red Bull value him then why not offer the same money as Max ? Apparently they can;t afford to pay top drivers $30m or so

 

[vintly]

Ricciardo isn’t as valuable as Max, so wouldn’t get the same pay wherever they were. Ricciardo’s pay is not a Red Bull issue, it’s up to him and his advisers to get the best deal they can.

 

[Il_leone]

vintly Daniel want to accept parity .. if they know Max was on $30m plus then Daniel wants assurances that the pay means he will be treated the same not just pay but contract length etc After all he's been there since 2008 at least with the set up. If its clear to Daniel that Red Bull don't value him as much then it is best he goes elsewhere before he turns into a Barrichello or a Kimi happy to accept millions just to be No 2

 

[vintly]

Or he stays, beats Max on merit and is then worth $50m. You don’t turn into a number 2 unless you’re not as good as the other driver.

I think he bottled the challenge.