2024 Daniel Ricciardo
However, results like these are exactly what the 34-year-old needs to continue in the sport. A generation of F1 fans will now remember Ricciardo as a character, one of the grid’s strongest personalities. Yet, in a vacuum, that would be unfair as it would threaten to overshadow the immense promise and flashes of brilliance he has showed during his career. Those daniel ricciardo funny moments performances in his early days in the sport suggested Australia’s first champion since Alan Jones was waiting to be crowned. And funnily enough, the nexus point of Ricciardo’s on-track career carries some level of synchronicity with his emergence on Drive to Survive, given his switch from Red Bull to Renault as one of the show’s first key storylines.
Ricciardo and his race engineer Pierre Hamelin were very pleased with the results, and rightly so! The duo was spotted enjoying a funny yet encouraging talk after the qualifying results. He shared his thoughts candidly, acknowledging his desire to win but emphasizing that his happiness and definition of success in this second phase of his career are not solely reliant on victories. Ricciardo made a bold decision at the end of 2018—leaving the highly competitive Red Bull to join Renault, a midfield team at the time. It shocked many fans, but Ricciardo believed in the long-term potential of Renault.
The Australian returned to the grid with Red Bull's junior team in 2023 when he replaced Nyck de Vries mid-season, with the door left open for him to be promoted to drive alongside Verstappen. Both drivers have secured three race victories, and though Verstappen is usually considered to be quicker over one lap with Ricciardo a more consistent racer - the record is tight when it comes to qualifying. Daniel Ricciardo .Driving around the circuit was ‘wild’ as per the Australian driver. Although Ricciardo scored good laps, it was difficult to manage clean laps under his belt. Regardless, the 34-year-old driver continued to push himself to score better results.
"There is pressure on a lot of us and there are moments where we're going to have to see if we can withstand that pressure. And that's something I'm excited to see if I can do." "That was important for Yuki and I to do it and for the team to know 'OK, we are not going to have problems moving forward'. It's race one and I think that's what we needed to do and it helped us leave that room, 'alright, it's done, Saudi here we come'." "It's hard, as soon as you put the helmet on and it's the end of the race, there's some frustration and you are a bit exhausted, you can always do some things which are a bit out of character. I try to take these things into account. "He's a great guy. So for me it doesn't really matter about if he deserves to be here. A lot of people deserve to be here, some don't deserve to be here. That's life in all kinds of sport."
However, he would charge back to the top 10 in a matter of laps, and sat fifth at the time of the red flag. Following the restart, Ricciardo made a sensational three-car overtake that moved him to third place, sitting behind Vettel and Lewis Hamilton. However, Vettel was due to serve a stop/go penalty while Hamilton pitted due to a loose headrest, promoting Ricciardo into the lead. He would then cross the line and win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, four seconds ahead of Bottas.
His apogee arrived at Monaco in 2018, when after qualifying in pole position he managed to hold off a chasing pack for 50 laps despite a failing power unit and only six of his eight gears working to claim the win on the famous circuit. A brilliant drive was followed by an iconic celebration as he swan dived, arms aloft, into the Red Bull swimming pool. It was likely his final F1 race — essentially confirmed when his RB team called him into the pits ahead of the final lap to give the Australian the opportunity to set the fastest lap of the race. Ricciardo is an eight-time grand prix winner but could be at the end of his F1 career. Ricciardo’s McLaren departure meant he was without a seat at the start of 2023, so he returned to Red Bull to become its reserve driver.
AP Top 25 Poll Alerts Get email alerts for every college football Top 25 Poll release. AP Top 25 Women's Basketball Poll Alerts Women's college basketball poll alerts and updates. Thus, Ricciardo crossed the finish line first, followed by Norris, scoring a legendary victory, McLaren’s first win since the 2012 Brazilian GP. On the first lap, Ricciardo fought against Lance Stroll not to lose position, overtook Yuki Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri and Fernando Alonso’s Alpine, and after Kimi Raikkonen’s accident, he moved up to thirteenth. After this masterclass move, the Australian took advantage of the extra stop Hamilton had to make to adjust his headrest, which had become loose. Then the 10-second penalty Vettel received to cross the finish line in the first position comfortably.
That news was officially confirmed on 26 September, meaning Lawson will partner Yuki Tsunoda for the final six rounds of the 2024 season, leaving the future of the eight-time grand prix winner unclear. Nothing is confirmed, but rumours have been swirling that Ricciardo has raced his last race with RB at the Singapore Grand Prix. New Zealander and RB backup driver Liam Lawson is a highly touted future star and has been waiting in the wings for some time now.
It was recently confirmed Ricciardo will be staying with RB for the remainder of the season, missing out on Red Bull promotion for now, but also avoiding an early replacement by reserve driver Liam Lawson who looks likely to make the grid in 2025. Ricciardo has first-hand experience with Red Bull's pressure cooker alongside Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen. And given the travails of those who tried to replace him, the Australian's original Red Bull stint – including seven of his eight grand prix wins – looks ever more impressive in hindsight. "In that moment I was heated. I was getting quite heated moments in my brain but I still let him through a lap or half a lap later. In the end, the team thought he had more chance and I respect that." Coming into this season, the Japanese driver stated he wanted to learn from his more experienced team-mate, but Tsunoda admitted he "probably showed the opposite" in Bahrain. It’s therefore likely to be the end of Ricciardo’s F1 career, which began in 2011 and has twice seen the 35-year-old finish third in the championship – his best result.
This event reignited his passion for racing and hinted at the possibility of future victories. Sebastian Vettel’s decision to leave Ferrari at the end of 2020 set off a driver market shake-up. Ricciardo, who had been at Renault for two seasons, saw an opportunity to move to McLaren—a team that was rising in competitiveness. The move promised to be Ricciardo’s return to a race-winning team, although it took him time to find his footing there. Ricciardo did well despite a poor car, as over time he gradually became quicker than veteran team-mate Vitantonio Liuzzi – out-qualifying him for grands prix like Italy, Singapore and Abu Dhabi.
“A lot of emotions, because – look I’m aware it could be it, and I think it’s also just exhausted after the race,” Ricciardo explained. Post-race, he removed his gloves and rested his hands on his thighs, taking more than a minute to compose himself before climbing out of the car and pausing again. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy. When he finally began making his way back to the paddock, the Australian had to walk through an honor guard, of sorts, of supporters who were lined up applauding him. Yahoo Soccer is powered by OneFootball, the ultimate destination for news, live matches, scores, highlights, and more.