Daniel Ricciardo is loved for his laughs and banter. But his memorable performances in the sport are what captured the attention of many.
Following a shocking announcement by Red Bull and Alpha Tauri, it is a good moment to look at some past highlights of Alpha Tauri’s new driver, Daniel Ricciardo. He is a highly loveable character, but he is so much more than that. What he has achieved in Formula One is remarkable, and his successes are why he is considered one of the top drivers of the hybrid era.
Here are a few of the Honey Badger’s best F1 moments on track.
5. A surprise win at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix
Daniel’s time at McLaren was undoubtedly difficult. There were a lot more lows than highs for him during his time there. But the high that he achieved, was also the first high of that magnitude for McLaren. He gave McLaren their first win since Jenson Button’s victory in 2012 Brazil.
Ricciardo pulled into the lead right at the start of the race, only losing out on the lead to Max Verstappen when he had to come in for a pit stop, before once again retaining the lead. It was a rare dominant performance, and even though the main competitors that day, Max and Lewis Hamilton were both out of the race, flowers and credit where they’re due, and that’s to McLaren’s latest race winner, Daniel Ricciardo.
4. A first pole position at the 2016 Monaco Grand Prix
Achieving your first-ever career pole at a track like Monaco is an achievement that deserves bragging rights. To add more to it, it was Red Bull’s first pole since the Brazilian Grand Prix of 2013, and their first at Monaco since 2012.
It was an incredible, near-perfect lap by the Aussie with a record time of 1:13:622. He was a tenth ahead of Nico Rosberg and a further two-tenths away from Lewis Hamilton, the two title contenders in the Mercedes cars. Need I say more? Unfortunately, due to a rare Red Bull pit stop error, Ricciardo didn’t win the 2016 Monaco Grand Prix. He had more fortune a few years later.
3. A career-first win at the 2014 Canadian Grand Prix
2014 was a difficult year for Red Bull, especially at the start. Their unreliable Renault power unit was no match for the Mercedes. But regardless of the situation, the honey badger was a strong driver that season, and was arguably the best of the rest.
Following a clean and smooth start, Ricciardo began the first stint of the race in sixth place, with an aim to end up on the podium. However, things turned around when Mercedes suffered from brake failures and Sebastian Vettel struggled with the tyres. The Australian suddenly became a contender for the win.
With a bold move on Sergio Perez to go into second place, Ricciardo went on to take on Nico Rosberg for the win. DRS proved powerful in liaison with Ricciardo as the Australian breezed by into the lead with two laps to go. This was his first-ever win Formula One win.
2. A win at the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix despite MGU-K failure
After suffering heartbreak in 2016. In the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix, Ricciardo was finally able to achieve a dream not many get to. He won in Monaco.
The Australian dominated the race for the first 28 laps, before moving on to report a loss of power that turned out to be an MGU-K failure. His horsepower was reduced by 25%, and on top of that, only six of his eight gears were functioning. Thanks to a strong first stint in the race, and dirty air coming into play along with some stunning defensive maneuvers that he is widely known for, Ricciardo was able to hold off second-place Sebastian Vettel to take a win in one of F1’s most remarkable tracks.
1. Triple overtake and win at the 2017 Azerbaijan GP
The mighty Daniel Ricciardo was the man to watch on that day. The Australian had started 10th in his Red Bull, dropped all the way down to 17th, then charged through the field to score his fifth grand prix win. One of the moves that granted him this win was a triple overtake that also earned him the award for best overtake of the season. Following an early Safety Car period, the Honey Badger used the slipstream to perfection on Baku’s long straight where he overtook Felipe Massa, Nico Hülkenberg and Lance Stroll into Turn 1, moving from sixth to third in the process.
Ricciardo took the lead after a few bizarre incidents. One is the very controversial Vettel and Hamilton Safety Car collision. The Ferrari driver felt he was brake-checked by the Brit and just drove into the Mercedes. Vettel was handed a 10-second stop and go penalty as a result, taking him out of contention for the race win. If that wasn’t enough, the headrest on Hamilton’s Mercedes became unstuck and had to be reinforced in an unscheduled pit stop.
Ricciardo didn’t make any mistakes and took home the trophy. While on the podium, the Honey Badger delighted the crowd by encouraging fellow podium runners Lance Stroll and Valtteri Bottas to take a shoey.
