Daniel Ricciardo became a Formula One fans favourite as he broke into the Red Bull Racing’s top team for one full season’s competition against the quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel. The Aussie replaced the retiring Mark Webber and was immediately on the pace of his world champion team mate as F1 entered the V6 turbo hybrid era in 2014.
Ricciardo picked up three wins that year despite the dominance of the Mercedes AMG F1 all conquering power unit, while Vettel was made to look ordinary in his final year with the Red Bull team before departing to race for Ferrari.
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Even the prospect of being partnered with the protege Max Verstappen did not phase Ricciardo who matched the upstart teenager before the disaster that was the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Having benefitted from the undercut, Max passed Daniel on lap 40 to take fourth place in the Grand Prix. Ricciardo known as “the last of the late bakers” made a signature move on his team mate down the long start/finish straight which Max attempted to cover. The result? A huge crash with both Red Bull cars retired from the race.
Whilst Christian Horner at the time apportioned blame equally between Verstappen and Ricciardo, it appeared to be a turning point for the Aussie who soon after announced he was leaving his Red Bull family to drive for the works outfit Renault.
Daniel was brought back to Red Bull as reserve driver while Sergio Perez was delivering an unconvincing second year with the team as Max Verstappen’s team mate. We now know Christian Horner wanted him to replace Yuki Tsunoda but Dr. Helmut Marko intervened claiming it would be damaging to Red Bull’s relationship with Honda.
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Improved chassis feel for Daniel
So Ricciardo watched on as the team bloodied an F1 rookie in the former Formula E champion Nyck de Vries early in 2023. The young Dutch driver was billed by Marko to be the natural ‘team leader’ over Yuki given his experience in other single seater racing together with his world championship crown.
De Vries failed to live up to Marko’s billing and ten races into the season he was replaced by Daniel who had impressed at a Red Bull/Pirelli tyre test. Instantly Ricciardo had the pace of his team mate, but on his third outing in Zandvoort, the Aussie came upon a stricken Oscar Piastri in the middle of the track.
Opting to hit the wall rather than T-bone the McLaren, Ricciardo suffered broken bones in his hand which saw him out for the next five Grand Prix. Since his return, Daniel has struggled to beat his team mate both in qualifying and the race until last time around in China where he finished ahead of the Japanese driver in both Sprint and GP qualifying and in the race classifications for the two events.
Ricciardo had been given a new chassis in Shanghai, which he claimed delisveredmuch better handling and now in Miami, Ricciardo caused the shock of the day when he man handled his RB car into fourth during Sprint qualifying.
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RB boss praises Ricciardo
Ex-Ferrari man and now RB team principal, Laurent Mekies, observed: “For us, China, Daniel, above all, it was his strongest weekend so far. We have been saying many times he’s progressing; you guys are going to see it.
“He was very strong from Friday onwards. Of course, if you are taken off the racetrack on the day of your strongest race, it’s never going to be a pleasant moment.”
Ricciardo was taken out of the Shanghai race as Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll hit the rear of the RB car during a safety car restart, which culminated in Daniel being forced to retire his car.
“We think we were fighting for that famous point that makes so much difference in the midfield,” added Mekies. “For the incident itself, as much as it is unpleasant, it’s the way racing is sometimes, and there is nothing else to do than move on.”
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RB upgrades work in Miami
RB brought a small update to this weekends event in Miami with a new floor design and a modified diffuser which is designed to bring more ‘local load’ as the FIA document explains. Ricciardo spectacularly then brought the RB home in P4 for the Sprint grid formation while team mate Tsunoda finished last in SQ2 and will start the shortened version of the Grand Prix in P15.
Laurent Mekies was keen to impress on his audience after Sprint qualifying, that Ricciardo has made some changes in the way he drivers and it is this together with car improvements designed to suit his needs which have made the difference.
“Some of it is coming from him adapting to it; some of it is coming from us adapting the car to his needs.
“Some of the stuff you can do very short term, and we have done quite a few steps. Some of the steps will come later in the season to give him something he can push with. He’s on a good trajectory,” Mekies added.
Just 0.4 seconds slower than Red Bull
RB have collaborated much more closely on this year’s car with their sister team RBR and many expected them to go on and dominate the lower midfield.
“I think we have now in both Daniel and Yuki [two drivers] at a very, very strong level and they are going to keep pushing each other like that for the rest of the year,” Mekies concludes.
While P4 for the Sprint is impressive, the gap to the fastest driver on the grid Max Verstappen, was just 0.4 seconds. Mercedes were 0.7 seconds slower than their biggest rival.
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Newey departure: Marko breaks silenc
Last Wednesday, Formula 1 racing team Red Bull confirmed the imminent departure of technical director Adrian Newey – much to the chagrin of motorsport director Dr. Helmut Marko. His departure comes at a time of change within Red Bull.
He is no longer involved in Formula 1, but his career is far from over. He is now focusing on the final development stages of the ambitious RB17 hypercar project under the Red Bull Technology Group. This new direction allows Red Bull to navigate Formula 1’s stringent financial regulations more effectively, redistributing resources while continuing to leverage Newey’s unparalleled expertise. Newey himself is enthusiastic about his new role, viewing it as an opportunity to pass the torch in Formula 1 and tackle new challenges…. READ MORE
