From Red Bull\u2019s number-one to rejoining in 2023 as a third driver. Daniel Ricciardo’s<\/a> transfers have been highly debated. Relive some of the Aussie’s highs and lows in part 1 of this series.<\/span><\/p>\n Ricciardo made his Formula 1 debut in 2011 with HRT. In 2012, he raced for Toro Rosso (now AlphaTauri), the junior team of Red Bull. Following Mark Webber’s departure from Red Bull at the end of 2013, Riccardo was given his seat and partnered alongside Sebastian Vettel.<\/p>\n For a while, Ricciardo was considered to be one of the best drivers on the grid. Now in a top team, he was able to show spectators and his rivals what he was really capable of. For the first qualifying session of the 2014 season in Melbourne, Ricciardo qualified on the front row and would go on to secure a P2 finish in the race. Meanwhile, his four-time World Champion teammate could only manage to qualify thirteenth and would have to retire the car during the race.<\/p>\n In the 7th race of the season, the Canadian Grand Prix, Ricciardo secured his first win in Formula 1. Due to reliability issues at the start of the race for both of the Mercedes drivers, Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, Ricciardo was able to overtake them and eventually win the race. <\/span><\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t the 4x world champion Vettel who brought three race wins home that season, it was Red Bull\u2019s<\/a> new addition to the team. The Australian ended the season with 238 points in the standings, finishing third in the championship. Vettel finished the season in fifth after scoring 167 points.<\/span><\/p>\n 2015 seemed a bit more challenging for the Aussie. On- and off-track issues led to a lack of performance. Ricciardo was still good, but if you compare it to his first year with Red Bull Racing, he wasn\u2019t as consistent. He couldn\u2018t match his success in the 2014 season and dropped from third to eighth in the championship standings, three points behind his new teammate Daniil Kyvat. Although Ricciardo wasn’t able to take any wins, he was able to score two podiums. <\/span><\/p>\n When Max Verstappen<\/a> joined the team in 2017, Ricciardo\u2019s talent began to be outshone by his teammate. The team had found their new golden boy, in whom they saw a future World Champion. After winning on his debut in the Spanish Grand Prix 2016, the young Dutchman was considered to be the future of F1. Despite the rise of young Verstappen, the 2016 season might be Ricciardo\u2019s best season in his F1 career.<\/span><\/p>\n This might be one of the most frustrating F1 moments for Ricciardo. He came first in all three Qualifying sessions and led the race early on. On lap 32 the team made a questionable pit-stop call to set Ricciardo up with a new set of slick tires. The tires weren\u2019t ready when Ricciardo came into the pits, forcing him to lose precious seconds in the pit lane. This resulted in Ricciardo coming out of the pits after Hamilton, who took the win in the end. Ricciardo recalls Monaco 2016 as \u201ca dark day\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\n His redemption day finally came at the Malaysian Grand Prix. Ricciardo was able to take advantage of Lewis Hamilton\u2019s engine failure, which forced the Brit to retire, and took the lead on Lap 41. After some tense battles at the Sepang International Circuit, Ricciardo managed to hold off Verstappen and decide the race for himself.<\/span><\/p>\n Similar to the 2014 season, Ricciardo finished 3rd in the championship standings, behind both of the Mercedes drivers. His teammate, also a parallel to the 2014 season, finished 5th in the standings. 52 points between them. <\/span><\/p>\n Red Bull went into 2017 as the third-best team on the grid, behind Mercedes and Ferrari. Throughout the season there were moments where Ricciardo\u2019s performance was slightly behind Verstappen\u2019s. But Redbull’s reliability issues over the season, especially towards the end of the year,\u00a0 made it difficult for both drivers to win.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, Ricciardo showed despite the problems in 2017, Red Bull was capable of competing at the top of the grid. He managed to be on the podium 9 times, 1 time as a winner, 1 time in second place, and 7 times in third place. Despite the highs, there were lows with Ricciardo not finishing in the points on six occasions – all of them due to DNFs. Ricciardo ended the season fifth in the standings.<\/p>\n At the beginning of 2018, Ricciardo seemed to be on a winning streak. After winning two of the first 6 races, he went into the season with a glorious start. However, his lucky streak didn\u2019t continue throughout the season.<\/span><\/p>\n In 2018 the tension between Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo began to rise. Their relationship reached its boiling point in Baku, Azerbaijan.<\/span><\/p>\n In the early stages of the race, it already came to multiple on-track battles. Ricciardo tried to overtake Verstappen, who defended his position with a double move, which eventually led to both crashing into each other. Neither of the two was willing to take the blame. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI felt like I was not really in the wrong even though I was the one that hit him. I think most people saw the double move.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Ricciardo crashes verstappen| Baku 2018!#F1<\/a> #AzerbaijanGP<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/mNVSS99itg<\/a><\/p>\n — moad_95 (@moooad001) May 31, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\nWho is Daniel Ricciardo?<\/span><\/h3>\n
Red Bull<\/span><\/h3>\n
The 2014 Season<\/span><\/h4>\n
The 2015 Season<\/span><\/h4>\n
2016: a new golden boy for Red Bull<\/span><\/h4>\n
The 2016 Monaco tragedy<\/span><\/h4>\n
The 2017 Season<\/h4>\n
\u00a0The 2018 Season<\/h4>\n
2018 Baku<\/span><\/h4>\n
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