Shockingly good result from him. Job well done for sure!
Haters looking silly but I think the AT is a better car than people are giving it credit for and Dan seems comfortable in it Let's see how he goes in the race
Next to Alonso, Ricciardo made the worst career moves in F1, maybe to redeem himself later, but it's too late now.
Checo compared to Ricci. There isnt one. 2 times in one career Checo makes to to a top team and folds. Ricci has made poor team choices/career moves. He has never driven as idiotically as Perez. Checo takes a fast car and loses, crashes and ruins other people's races and his legacy consistently this year at RedBull. There arent many reasons left to have Checo at RedBull and Ricci NOT in RedBull lol! Image Unavailable, Please Login
When I think about it, I am not sure he did make poor career choices. This is how I see it.... If he stayed at Red Bull, the team still would have put Max first. At the time DR still thought he was equal or better. Reality would see Max mop the floor with him from 2019 onwards. I see no reason why it wouldn't be as bad as Gasly, Albon, or Perez. Since we wouldn't have that graveyard of drivers under Max, it's likely Helmut and Red Bull would fire DR and confidence in his ability would be poor and he wouldn't get a top drive or a huge contract. He got the big money at Renault, and despite their factory investments the team just didn't do a great job. Ricciardo did still comfortably beat Hulkenberg and the talks of DR being one of the best were common place. This landed him a stop at McLaren. A team that knows how to win and were on the rise. 4th in 2019, 3rd in 2020, and now with Mercedes power in 2021. This seems like a good career move. Too bad Ricciardo just couldn't perform there. Despite bailing on Red Bull. After making all the money he'll ever need, and after failing at McLaren and everyone thinking he's washed up. He may actually land back at Red Bull while they have the best car on the grid? That's some damn good fortune if you ask me.
+1 I won't blame Ric for the moves he made. 30 Million to become #1 in a team that finished just 1 place below RBR the year before? With the very much questionable Honda engines RBR were getting (underpowered and unreliable at the time of signing)? Not a bad deal. Mclaren move made sense, too. Like you say, he's made all the money he'll ever need anyways. Even if he does a year at Red Bull and doesn't live up to his former promises...what will stop him to do indycar, nascar, WEC...anything? Like they'll shut the door on him without a test even...
Ric could have bought himself a ticket to the second Red Bull seat next year with this return performance. I guess that was just the confirmation Horner and Marko wanted.
In financial terms you could be right: Ricciardo got richer, but that's about it. None of his choices proved to be wise, nor rewarding, with only a lucky GP win at McLaren. Ricciardo certainly didn't leave an indelebile mark at Renault. At McLaren, Norris soon got the best of him, forcing his departure. Piastri proves to be a very good replacement ! Back in the Red Bull nest, I can't wait to see how Max will deal with him; we may soon see that. Ricciardo will have an advantage: Horner likes him and wants him back.
Horner: "Outstanding" Ricciardo looked his old self in F1 Mexico GP Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has praised an "outstanding" Daniel Ricciardo performance in Formula 1's Mexico Grand Prix as the Australian "looked like the Daniel of old".
Some drivers have particular tracks that they excel on. I think Mexico is one of those for Ric. We’ll see whether he can keep it up in Brazil.
There would be no point making a switch before the end of the season. RB already have both titles, and the only thing left is to secure a 1-2 finish in the drivers’ standings. Their only chance to do that is to leave Checo right where he is.
I'm optimistic for him. He had time to set the car up this weekend and was good enough split the Red Bulls in qualifying. He didn't have time the prior weekend in Austin because of less practice due to the sprint race so he used "Yuki's setup" (then drove a damaged car for most of the race). /
