Head To Head Sebastian Vettel vs Daniel Ricciardo

[Greenlantern101]

Pre season I think most would of agreed this thread would be pointless. Many including myself had little hope that Daniel could bring the fight to Seb. But after out qualifying Seb in Melbourne 2nd vs 13th then finishing 2nd in the race, all be it to get disqualified through no fault of his own, It raised my hopes and brought into question for me just how good Vettel is.

Then come Malaysia Seb takes 2nd for Dans 5th in qually, with a 3rd and retire for Dan almost a complete mirror of Melbourne.

At the time of writing (Sunday morning before Bahrain race) Dan has picked up the fight again with a 3rd in Qually Vs Sebs 11th. Significantly this is also the first dry qualifying of the year, the first time we have seen a true team mate comparison. However Dan does have yet another unfair penalty in a 10 place grid drop due to his team not fitting the 4th wheel in the pit stops in Melbourne.

So unfair penalties aside.

Qually Dan 2 Seb 1
Race Dan 1 Seb 1

I am hoping this will be a much closer fight than I was expecting.

 

[Quintessentially]

He's looking a better sight than Webber in the Redbull so far and he can clearly drive in the wet which is a good start. As much as I like Webber as a person, I just couldn't warm to him as a racer. With no blown diffuser which finger exploited to great effect any advantage he might have over Ricciardo is diminished.

 

[teabagyokel]

Ricciardo has been a pleasant surprise in the Red Bull so far. He also has no points, which is correct but not his fault.

 

[Jen]

Perhaps Dan is better acquainted with crap cars and how to handle them. Yes, I know this an old theory with 'implications', but also a possibility.

I, too, had thought that Dan didn't stand a cat-in-Hells chance of trouncing Seb - he seems to be doing that now but am sure RBR will intervene one way or another.

 

[Greenlantern101]

Qually Dan 2 Seb 1
Race Dan 2 Seb 1

 

[Titch]

A feisty driver is Ricciardo

 

[teabagyokel]

I think the moment he raced past Vettel is the moment that we were told the clearest message - Mark Webber is retired. Will be 3rd in the Championship if Red Bull win their appeal.

 

[downforce]

Yes it was so very nice to see Ricciardo quallify so far ahead of Vettel in the dry. Then take a penalty that put him behind Vettel on the grid and still beat him in the race anyway by overtaking him on track.

 

[Titch]

Vettel is in all sorts of trouble, he's even upset Todt and Ron Dennis.

 

[Il_leone]

Ricciardo message to his team about being held up by Vettel was very poignant and this time Vettel had to move over
and later on in the race when he passed him down the straight was also a statement of intent

You heard mention about being slow on the straight again Did he set up the car with high downforce then? Then aint it obvious to run less wing then to be faster down the straight but it was a very messy weekend from Vettel

Certainly Ricciardo has shown enough to keep Vettel on his toes.. and it certainly seems Vettel is not undisputed No 1

 

[Quintessentially]

A few drivers have been complaining about loss of power and being suddenly slow etc I think a lot of it is just a harvesting issue.

 

[teabagyokel]

Admittedly, Vettel saying "I've got no power" is about as commonplace as Button saying "I've got no grip" once was.

 

[RasputinLives]

Danny's made a good start but then I expected him too on pure enthusiasm. Lets remember Webber pushed Seb a bit when they were first team mates.

 

[Dizzi]

Webber may have pushed Seb a bit but Danny is storming past him.
I'm highly impressed with the young Aussie so far & sincerely hope he can keep up the enthusiasm & Red Bull allow him to.
I think Jen is right, Seb has been used to being utterly dominant for the last few years whereas Daniel knows what it's like to drive a difficult car & I think it's that experience which is helping him, it's a long time since Seb was in a truly difficult car.
I'm rather enjoying a team mate who isn't afraid to challenge.

 

[sushifiesta]

I'm not sure you can call a car good enough to finish top 4 in every race so far (fuel sensor issues aside) difficult/crap. Not dominant and not the fastest, yes, but it's still a bloody good car.

Vettel is probably at his best/probably is the best when the car is completely under him and good enough to let him lead from the front though, so it's definitely going to be interesting to see how hard Ricciardo pushes him across a whole season when Red Bull are struggling, relatively speaking.

My disappointment with Vettel so far is how he's dealt with the situation more than how he's performed compared to Ricciardo - there's been a lot of moaning on team radio and in the press. Meanwhile, Ricciardo has had terrible luck and kept a smile on his face. Granted, despite his troubles Ricciardo's situation has improved since last year, but on the evidence we've had so far I think we've seen Hamilton and Alonso deal with similar (or worse) situations better than Vettel seems to be at the moment.

 

[Greenlantern101]

Dan half a second faster than Seb today. He is making Seb look slow.

Qually Dan 3 Seb 1
Race Dan 2 Seb 1

 

[ExtremeNinja]

Danny's showing Seb what's what. I've never believed in Seb and it's great to see my opinion vindicated, having him put up against someone who looks to be a real contender. Glad Danny got the drive. People didn't get it as he went backwards in rces. That's because he over-qualified a Torro Rosso most of the time.

 

[Brogan]

So is Vettel starting to look a little ordinary, or is Ricciardo starting to look even more extraordinary?

 

[teabagyokel]

I don't think anyone thought Ricciardo would be quite this good, and I think the list of champions tells us Vettel is not ordinary.

 

[Bill Boddy]

I was one of those sitting on the fence regarding Vettel; a good driver certainly but would need to drive a non-competitive car or have to compete against a quality driver to put him in the top class of drivers. The season is still young but if it were to continue the way it has started then Vettel could not be classified as a top class driver imo. However, as I said, it is only early days in the season so I am still on top of that fence.

Ask me again after Spa.