Just a little piece on Ricciardo: When he first popped up at Toro Rosso, I was very happy, because it meant having an Aussie to replace Webber. 'Great!' I thought. 'Aussies all need an underdog to root for on the weekly - getting hopes dashed and hearts broken.' When Webber first announced that he'll be getting replaced by Ricciardo at Red Bull, I thought, 'Great! That's heaps of consistency to keep the Aussie driver in a top team to get crushed by the Wunderkind Vettel.' But that started to change by the second half of 2014. When Ricciardo resoundingly beat Vettel, I was still skeptical, sure. Webber himself didn't think that Vettel's defeat meant much. I was fine with putting it down to 'beginner's luck'; Ricciardo had to make a statement and he made it. I actually didn't think much of it, and it's a bit shameful that I didn't, as an Aussie. Since then, Ricciardo's demolished Kvyat, and I thoroughly believe he can beat Verstappen as well. This isn't a post exclaiming how impressed I am with Ricciardo, because I knew that I'd be impressed with whatever he did, but moreover a post acknowledging that I underestimated him. I actually thought we were getting a Webber-esque clone, but it never clicked until this year in fact that we actually got an Alonso or Button clone. Ricciardo's a whizz, and it's incredibly exciting to realise that he's about to start his judgement of mettle year against his teammate for the world championship - Webber's 2010. Whether that year comes in 2017 or 2018, it is irrelevant to what I'm trying to say... It's on the cusp, and from the spectator position that I'm in, I'm unbelievably hyped for the grand theatre that 2017/2018 is going to be from an Australian perspective. It's gonna be huge, and I owe it to Ricciardo to never, ever doubt him again. He'll be world champion next year or the next. I've not a single doubt in my mind about it. -- Does everyone agree, an opposite view, or a slightly different perspective?
The first race i Knew he might be serious potential was Korea 2012, his engine blew in qualifying and he had to start last but somehow he managed to be one of the fastest cars on the grid at one point and got all the way into the points, and he even overtook his team mate but then had some damage and had to settle behind, that was probably one of the most impressive performances I have seen. I have been following Ricciardo since he won his first race in British F3 in 2009, as at the time he was the only aussie hope coming into F1, I never thought he would be where he is though.
Yep, he's the real deal, and shockingly for an f1 driver doesn't mind a laugh, and not an arrogant, pretentious, petulant, entitled little twat like some f1 drivers tend to be these days.
Best footage of him was this year going though Monaco's tunnel on Hamilton tail and just watching his car control and full throttle sliding in the dirty air. He is the most exciting driver on the grid.
It's easy to tell who the real stars are when it rains. You only have to look at the advantage Senna or Schumacher had in the wet. Monaco showed that there are only 4 or 5 drivers that can stay on it in the wet, and Ricciardo was the most 'Senna' like of them all.
When you overtake a Mercedes driven by a world champion on the outside of turn 2 at Hungary, you're doing alright (let's not bring tyre deg into the argument and spoil our fun!!) He's got world champion written all over him, and I'd hazard a guess as to say he'd be one of the most universally popular world champions since Jenson in 2009...except maybe in the Netherlands.
Cob's comment got me thinking: Does anyone see his personality changing next year or the next (whichever his world title year is)? When I talked about the grand theatre, it's because I'm expecting the fireworks, and the tantrums, and the doubters, the challenge and the pressure. When Ricciardo rips Verstappen a new one, or when Verstappen gets the best of Ricciardo, how is Ricciardo going to react? That's what I'm most excited about. I'm excited because he's the hero that Australians and indeed the rest of the world need. Will he crumble? Will he breakdown? Will he go through big slumps, possibly getting depressed or nervous that the championship could slip through his fingers? Will it be a toil? Is he going to keep a smiley facade, while going through so much pressure, and is it going to release when he gets the championship? Or is the pressure going to show? Or will he simply rise above it all, like he has shown in all facets of his life, and become a true legend? That's what's exciting, because I just don't know how tough it's going to be!
To me Ricciardo is everything the media and one eyed fans believe Verstappen is, the cunning racer, spectacular speed, calm under pressure... You wouldn't know it if you only paid attention to tabloid reports, but Dan has carved Max up since Spain. All things being equal, Max has not once convincingly beaten Dan once this season, save for Canada when Dan suffered much higher tyre wear. 2017 will ve explosive but I'm expecting Daniel to comfortably asset himself as #1.
agree, remember webber talking about him when he took his redbull seat and he said with a high degree of certainty that "he would be ok" !....I loved webber too, he told it like it is, didnt BS and wasnt a primadonna like the rest of them. The only thing he didnt do was lay one on vettels chin.... I think Ric will be in with a shot next year so long as newie gives him the tools to do it. He has a history of either designing rocket ships or bricks so can only hope its the former.
A few more races I did: Monaco: Canada: You can start to see the upgrades definitely start to work as the performances get better.
What is everyone's thoughts of Max's defensive driving? I reckon he will cause a massive accident soon if he doesn't pull his head in and this is coming from a Dutch Australian who likes Max and how he goes about his business(MOSTLY )
It's pretty disgraceful to watch really, and I'm sick of people using his age and that "Schumacher and Senna did the same thing" as an excuse for it. Idiots who think this kind of behaviour is acceptable clearly have selective memories as they fail to recall the serious nature of accidents that can occur when a car hits the back of another one at high speed, Gilles Villeneuve's fatal springs to mind, or for a more modern example, this crash at Snetterton in a Formula Palmer Audi, and this is at far lower speeds, imagine 320km/h+ with Spa's trees, oh dear.
TBH im on the fence with him at the moment. I think some of his defensive driving has been right on the limits of what should be allowed, but most of it is a little of an over reaction from the media, and other drivers trying to keep their place in the pecking order. His problem is going to be, given he has been sailing close to the wind, ANY accident involving him will be more closely scrutinised than most other drivers. I dont think he was in the wrong at turn 1 last week at spa, i think that was a race incident and rightly ruled that way IMO. I think the ones where he has change lines to 'defend' are a little tight HOWEVER, the fact he has come away with no penalty, and more importantly no contact shows the level of his driving and the driving of those around him. They are good enough to avoid contact and continue. I have no doubt that the potential for a massive crash is very real, but thats the reality of F1. Even when they try to do the right thing it can end in this ....
Verstappen is sailing very close to the wind. His moves aren't illegal by the letter of the law, but it is very dangerous. Usually when a driver moves to cover his line, it is proactive. He sees the guy coming and moves well before anything happens. With Verstappen, he almost baits the other guy into making a move, then swerves violently in front of him, making him slow down or avoid contact. Not illegal, but really poor form and it will probably take him either ruining someone else's race along with his own, or someone getting hurt in an accident he causes, in order for something to be done. He's so good for the sport in terms of marketing (look at the crowds in Belgium for him) that the powers that be are loathe to make any hard hitting decisions for fear of crowds turning away from the sport.
F1 App is showing wet conditions for the weekend at Singapore.. Street circuit + rain would have to be good news for Ricciardo.
Red Bull will be super quick at Singapore anyway, as will Ferrari I suspect. Should be a good race as Mercedes have struggled there more than any other circuit.
I never used to look forward to Singapore but now to me it's one of the highlights of the season, if Merc struggle again we could see a 6 car shootout for the win.
