Victory for Ricciardo in Monza Daniel Ricciardo put on a thrilling display in Monza today in round six of the Formula Renault 3.5 Series. The Australian was involved in a race long battle with fellow Red Bull Junior Jean-Eric Vergne for victory, and despite Vergne crossing the line first, Ricciardo took the win as Vergne was handed a ten second penalty for cutting the chicane. Starting from pole position this morning, Daniel made a good start but out braked himself into the first corner which resulted in him cutting the first chicane. In order to avoid a penalty, Daniel backed off and gave back any advantage, allowing Vergne close enough to attack and take the lead at the second chicane. Daniel didnt give up however and continued to pressurise Vergne throughout the race, and nearly retook the lead at the half way point. Daniel was alongside the leader when Vergne cut the chicane and maintained the lead. Stewards deemed Vergne to have gained an advantage by exceeding track limits and he was handed a 10 second time penalty to be added after the race. Safe in the knowledge that his rival would actually have 10 seconds added to his race time, Daniel stayed close to the leader but didnt risk any further overtaking moves. Daniel crossed the line second but took the top step on the podium and his first win of the season. Speaking about his race Daniel said, It was an interesting race. I had the lead into turn one, but I went in a little too deep and cut the chicane. I then backed off in order to not make an advantage and Jean-Eric came alongside me and passed me into the second chicane. I was a bit faster that him in the first part of the race and it was very close on a couple of occasions but I couldnt get the last little bit to get past him. Then about mid way through the race I had a good run into the second chicane and dived to the inside on braking. We were side by side into the corner and Jean-Eric cut the second apex and kept going in the lead. I felt I should have had the position and he should have given up his advantage. In the last part of the race his pace improved and couldnt really get close enough to attack him properly. It was nice to be rewarded 1st place after the race but it wouldnt have been good to be first across the line. It was a very challenging race but at the end of the day the points are very welcome.
Busy day for Ricciardo in Monaco It was a busy day for Daniel Ricciardo today, as the Red Bull Junior took part in Formula Renault 3.5 and Formula 1 first practice in Monaco. In the only race event of the year where the two categories race side by side, Daniel had his work cut out as he set the pace in first Formula Renault 3.5 practice before taking his turn behind the wheel of the Toro Rosso F1 car. Preparing for the fourth event of the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, Daniel was keen to replicate the pace that saw him take victory in Monaco a year ago. The 21 year-old made steady progress, gradually building up to his ultimate pace. Daniel had climbed to second quickest overall when the majority of the drivers pitted to start their run on new tyres. As the times started to tumble, Daniel briefly dropped to seventh before going quickest overall with just a couple of minutes of the session remaining. No one could beat Daniels time, leaving him in the best possible shape for the FR3.5 qualifying session on Saturday morning. Also fulfilling his role as Toro Rosso reserve and test driver this weekend, no sooner had Daniel climbed out of his ISR FR3.5 car then he went straight to the Toro Rosso garage to prepare for the Formula 1 first practice. Just 30 minutes later Daniel was back in action again, this time in Jaime Alguersuaris F1 car. Daniel used his experience around the Monaco circuit well, providing the Toro Rosso team with valuable feedback ahead of the Grand Prix this weekend. Once again, Daniel put in a mature performance, staying out of the barriers and completing a detailed test programme. The Perth born driver was 17th quickest in the early stages, but improving to 16th in the final minutes of the session. Daniel pushed even harder on his final lap, going 14th quickest, just two places behind his more experienced team mate Sebastien Buemi.
He was in such a rush to leave that they had to get the boss's son to drive his FR car back to the paddock
The details - Ricciardo rules in Monaco Daniel Ricciardo dominated proceedings in round seven of the Formula Renault 3.5 Series this weekend, having topped every session around the glamorous Principality of Monaco this weekend. The 21 year-old Australian was quickest in free practice, stormed to pole position on Saturday and took a lights to flag victory today to take his second consecutive Monaco victory. Racing in front of the F1 teams, Daniel added to the celebrations of his Red Bull colleagues who took victory in the Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix this afternoon. Daniel put himself in the best possible position to take his second race win in Monaco; taking pole position in Saturdays qualifying session. The Red Bull Junior left it until the final minutes to show his hand, storming to his second consecutive Monaco pole. Lining up at the head of the grid in front of expectant F1 crowds and the F1 teams, Daniel showed little evidence of nerves and made the perfect getaway to lead the field into the first corner. Carlins Robert Wickens was his nearest rival in second but Daniel drove flawlessly to keep his rival behind with a comfortable gap back to the rest of the field. A safety car on lap 17 bunched up the field and deleted any advantage Daniel had built up, but the Toro Rosso test driver judged the restart perfectly to maintain the lead as racing recommenced. With the Monaco walls claiming several victims, it wasnt long before the safety car again appeared on track, but once again Daniel showed no nerves and controlled the restart to hold onto the lead. Despite pressure from Wickens right up to the chequered flag, Daniel had the race within his control and stormed to a second stunning victory in Monaco.
Eddie Jordon gave a huge push for Daniel in the forum after the GP last night regarding the possibility of dumping Jaime Alguersuari for him.
Nice article in the Plus section on www.autosport.com about getting a ride around Monaco with DR in a Renault Sport Megane Trophy. Article here, subscription to the site or magazine required
Podiums and points in Nurburgring Daniel Ricciardo showed front running pace in Germany this weekend, in rounds eight and nine of the Formula Renault 3.5 Series. The Toro Rosso reserve driver was a consistent front runner throughout the weekend, to claim a second and fifth place finish to elevate himself to fourth in the championship standings. Perth born Daniel is closing in rapidly on the championship leaders in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, following another strong outing in Germany this weekend. During Saturdays compulsory low downforce set up running, Daniel provided one of the battles of the weekend in a fight with Robert Wickens for the race one victory. Daniel made the most of first race start of the weekend on Saturday morning. The Australian catapulted his ISR run car to second from fifth on the grid, and by the end of lap one had snatched the race lead from rival Robert Wickens. Wickens fought back in the wet conditions a few corners later to snatch back the lead, just as a safety car period got underway to clear away an accident on the start/finish straight. Daniel made the most of the restart, with a better exit out of the last corner and an attack on Wickens down the straight. The Red Bull Junior out braked Wickens into the first corner to take back the lead. From there, the race settled into a steady pace, with Daniel leading the field. A sudden rain storm saw track conditions deteriorate however, with Daniel having to tip toe round certain parts of the circuit; exploring the grip available as the lead car. Wickens took advantage of the conditions to get a good exit from the last corner and pull alongside, with the duo side by side down the start/finish straight. Wickens took back the lead, and despite pressure from Daniel in the final stages of the race went on to win, with Daniel second by just 0.671 seconds. It was a really challenging race, but it was great to fight with Rob [Wickens] in those conditions, said Daniel afterwards. I dont think Ive ever driven in a race where lap times can differ by 30 seconds a lap. It was sunny and then all of sudden it would be dark with storm clouds. We swapped places many times; Rob was quicker in the very wet conditions, but I was quicker when it was drying. In the end we didnt quite have enough for a win, but I was satisfied with my performance, and I think we put on a good show. While Saturdays running had been rain affected, Sunday was a day filled with red flags and safety cars. Daniel lost out in qualifying due to a red flag just three minutes before the end of the session, just when the F1 reserve driver was on his quickest lap. At the end of the session Daniel had qualified fifth. Again Daniel made a good start as race two of the weekend got underway, immediately overtaking Albert Costa for fourth to close up behind his Red Bull colleague Jean-Eric Vergne. With Sundays race featuring a mandatory pit stop for all drivers, crucially a handful completed their stops before the safety car came out following an accident on lap nine. Daniel, along with the leaders had not yet stopped, and took the decision to run as long as possible in an effort to build up a gap again from the field behind. Daniel finally made his stop on lap 20, but with Kevin Korjus and Fairuz Fauzy having stopped early, the duo had track position and passed the leaders to hold first and second respectively. That put Daniel fifth at the chequered flag. I thought the race was going well said Daniel. I was fourth and close up on Jean-Eric [Vergne] in the fight for third. Then Korjus and Fauzy pitted before the safety car and had track position. After my pit stop I was fifth, and thats where I finished. On reflection, it wasnt a terrible weekend, but obviously not as good as I would have hoped. Im looking forward to the next round in Hungary now where I won last year and hopefully some drier, and hotter weather! As his back to back schedule continues, Daniel will first take part in Fridays free practice session in the European Grand Prix this week in Valencia with the Toro Rosso F1 team.
Some interesting insights from a young man on the move................. Daniel Ricciardo is hard at work this weekend, this time in his role as reserve and test driver for the Toro Rosso F1 team. The 21 year-old took part in first free practice yesterday morning finishing 12th quickest in Sebastien Buemis car, but his duties extend beyond an hour and a half in the race car on Friday morning. Here, Daniel explains exactly what is involved in the role of reserve driver .. First of all, how did first free practice go for you yesterday morning? The session went pretty well for myself and the team. As always, theres not much time to learn a new circuit in first free practice but I got down to a respectable time quite quickly and was able to improve a good chunk on my last run with the new tyres. What did you think of the Valencia street circuit on your first visit? The circuit is actually quite confusing to learn as there are so many corners which on approach all look the same! Thats when time in the simulator really pays off. I enjoyed the first sector which is quite tight and twisty over the curbs. The last corner is very challenging as you arrive in seventh gear and have to go right on the brakes then bring it back to the left. I imagine this corner gets easier as the weekend goes on. Do you have any input over the weekend in driver briefings or is it a more observational role? Now that I have more experience and confidence with the team I speak up more in the briefings and if I think something can be improved I share my opinion. What other media activities are you involved in during the weekend? It depends from weekend to weekend to be honest. Sometimes I have quite a few media and sponsor activities and sometimes not so many. If there are quite a lot of additional activities then it makes sense for me to help out and ease the load on the drivers who are in the cars all weekends. Sometimes for Red Bull I will take guests for a hot lap around the track in Renault sports car and do stuff like that which is fun. They normally need a new set of tyres afterwards . What value do you think you add to the team as reserve driver? I guess for one thing Im just an extra person to give feedback. The more confidence and experience I get the more feedback Im able to give and the more the team ask my opinion. That definitely helps when running is so restricted. I can also help out with media stuff and I guess Im just another personality in the team! Hopefully I add something to the team . Where do you watch the race from? I like to watch in the garage with all the mechanics. I like watching the pit stops and feeling the tension that the mechanics and engineers feel. You dont normally see that when youre in the car.
I wonder if (it's true, and if so whether) it was a freebie cos they couldn't justify replacing Alguersuari after his good race in Valencia but want DR to get some racing in this season?
It is more likely that Mr Karthikeyan has had issues fulfilling his budget contribution commitment.. There are no common sponsors/suppliers between Red Bull/STR/Red Bull technology and HRT... Perhaps its like Mr Schumacher's drive for Jordan Ford many moons ago... that one was funded by Mercedes... maybe this one by the winged softdrink lovers..
I thought that's what I said :\ I can't possibly imagine HRT paid anything for it, and I'm not sure Karthikeyan was unable to pay his bill either... I think Red Bull just wanted DR in a race seat sooner rather than later, they don't have any spaces without sacking someone at STR and Buemi is doing OK this year with Alguersuari having just saved his skin in Valencia, so the easiest option is to pay HRT whatever Karthikeyan is paying plus 5% or something. As a bonus, Liuzzi is a known quantity at RBR and STR.
you did, but what can you expect from Datsun drivers I'm excited for Daniel, I'm sure he will acquit himself well
