when it comes to drivers, Confucious say, “life is like a box of chocolates”.
Well.. by that measure there are a lot of drivers who should've had wins if not for a botched pit stop, blown tire, etc. Attrition has always been a part of F1... just a lot less so nowadays. He could've/should've easily negated that sort of thing by driving to win and not for the camera. What was it... his first race when he went scampering off to Renault ... he took off from the line and preceded to go off track and rip his wing off. He never lived up to the potential his mouth set himself up for. Once he got a taste of the limelight and became more popular, you just saw everything about him hyper exaggerated as if solely for the cameras... all the while making excuses for his poor performance. Well now it's been a few years of unmet expectation and I think even the Ric fans are starting to say... time to shut-up and race.
Here's a good article on Ric. I think it fairly lays out some of the potential reasons for his decline. I think it's fair and not overtly derogatory. I myself have a hard time separating my dislike for him ... more so who he became... in contrast to his issue with his race craft. I think the one theory this article suggest is sort of what some of us have alluded to is that he just cashed out and fell in love the attention and celebrity while his career and abilities were getting passed down the straight. https://www.planetf1.com/features/what-happened-daniel-ricciardo-f1-decline-theory
He certainly made a mistake when he left Red Bull for Renault, but he probably was under the impression that he couldn't exist at Red Bull aymore, with Max on the rise, and he might also been coated in sugar by Renault F1's management stories, whereas, as we might see only too plainly six years later, they still don't know why they are there or what they want to be, or if they really are ready to make what it takes to win a race again... But it was his stint at McLaren that was really painful; O.K, he won at Monza, and Lando did not, so that says something at least... However, he looked so lost...basically, Lando gave him a taste of the medicine he gave to Vettel in 2014, isn't it? In french, we have this saying that comes from a former "dark advisor in politics" (I shall not elaborate) of the seventies "One does not shoot at an ambulance", and that's what I am feeling right now exactly. Me thinks he should bow out. And I say it again, I like the guy. But time waits for no-one. Rgds
I never understood why Red Bull took him back; he didn't deserve it. I don't know about Marko, but Horner was much in favour. They must feel disappointed; it was a management mistake.
I couldn’t understand it either. And as I recall they really laid on the £€$. It made no sense then, and it’s utterly unfathomable now.
Can you imagine setting a fastest lap during a tyre test and he got the seat. I would have used the time and money to properly develop Nyck.
Well...if I remember correctly (?), his comeback last summer at the wheel of the then Alpha Tauri (Toro Rosso by another name) was supposedly a step towards Perez's seat, something which, at the time, looked like a done deal. To think that this was only eight months ago...Not sure that anyone now is still convinced that Daniel Ricciardo would be a better choice than Perez...especially when is old pal from the former Toro Rosso days, Carlos Sainz Jr, is available...AND FOR LESS MONEY. Whatever the reason was, he couldn't claim that he was not given a second chance, which is more than many drivers get and could claim. Sic transit Gloria, Arx tarpeia Capitoli proxima, and all these sort of things (King for a Day, then down to nothing the day after) Rgds
Except that Carlos Sainz Jr is supposed to go at Mercedes for two years, while young Antonelli learn his trade at Williams, this according to the italian press; "Done Deal", they say. Rgds https://www.gazzetta.it/Formula-1/12-04-2024/carlos-sainz-va-alla-mercedes-f1.shtml
Right, but even then I couldn’t understand why he would be seriously considered for the Red Bull seat. That’s the part that didn’t make sense. It wasn’t merited in my opinion, especially with so much young talent around. It seemed a sentimental decision from a team known for its rather cold blooded approach to racing. I can’t see Max or The Doctor wanting him around.
I think "the part that didn"t make sense" is the work of Christain Horner who had a soft spot for Ricciardo and couldn't see being out of work. Horner thought Ric should be back inside the Red Bull organisation, as a reserve/ simulator driver first for evaluation. I am not sure Helmut Marko was very enthusiast about it. When Nyck de Vries fell short of expectation at Alpha Tauri, Ricciardo was ideal to replace him immediatly. From then, rumours of a return to Red Bull started to circulate to unsettle Perez. We are far from such eventuality now: Ricciardo can't even hold a candle to Tsunoda, sad to say.
This is a very early start to the Silly Season. Looks like all of the top drives(except 2nd RBR seat) are taken?
As an Aussie I thought Dan was the real deal when he came into F1 and while at RB he was more than capable of holding his own against Max, BUT, RB had screwed over Webber by favouring Vettel from the driver academy and they saw Max as a better advertisement for their product so it was probably going to be another screw over and he left for Renault, which I thought was a great move as Renault are normally more than capable of developing a great car and engine but they need DR for more years and they weren't delivering what they had promised him (I spoke to his dad) The McLaren thing is a mystery apart from the money and Monza, if I was running McLaren I would have let him go earlier, before Monza, he clearly was lost. He was a breath of fresh air to F1 , enjoying the life and a more than capable driver with the Aussie larrikinism which appeals to us here in Oz but we expected him to win every race and I'll expect he did as well Money !!! Has ruined him but good luck to him and I hope I get to see him at some of the Ferrari rallies held here in Oz
Agree on everything. Nevertheless I don’t think neither Webber nor Ricciardo were World champions materials. Vettel and Max were just better drivers in the end.
Agree on Max but not Vettel, he saw himself as the second coming when he came to Ferrari Vettel was NO Schumacher, no-one is I've only ever liked two drivers, Nuvolari and Schumacher Imagine Max and Michael in the same team today
As I said almost 3 years ago, swell fellow, would break bread and share a beer with him ANYDAY if I ever was lucky enough to have the opportunity, sadly, being a cool dude doesn’t pay the bills in F1. Just curious what the Ricardo fans are saying the ‘unfair’ reason he got the boot? I’ve always said stopwatches don’t care about RIC fan’s feelings, that’s wrong, I realize it’s RIC fan’s don’t care about stopwatches.
I don't know, Paul, is anyone saying it's unfair that Ricci is out? I think the team has been more than fair in keeping him this long. I like him as a character but not so much as a driver. I wish him well in his next endeavor.
Read the comments on F1's instagram page. So many fans are complaining how unfair it is to Ricciardo.
if a driver needs to be juggling balls 10 min before lights out, he is not prepared. like cramming for a college test as the teacher is passing out the exam.
I would like there to be a YouTube show about cars hosted by Chris Harris, Guenther Steiner, and Daniel Ricciardo.
He Ricci, had an appeal to fans. They express their opinions, so hardly news that is. The issue is Yuki. Not moving forward to RedBull, not that good and not replaced lol. He should be replaced after Yas. Marko's driver program is lame.
that's pretty common now. I do wonder about its effectiveness but don't think that's a sign you're not prepared. not being fast enough is the bigger problem at the end of the day, this is a performance business, and Danny just didn't perform hopefully he sticks around as a personality, but he lost his mojo as a driver long ago
Oh my goodness, just look at the title of this thread! It’s like the ultimate face-off between ‘Was Ric this close to being a champion?’ and ‘Why Hamilton is—or isn’t—a ‘real’ champion!’ Honestly, these debates pop up more often than Ferrari makes strategy blunders! At least other people now can have clarity on one. We share the same brain friend.
