Daniel Ricciardo

Actually, it will be interesting to see his Friday times compared to the Toro Rosso team drivers.

That will be a real measure of his ability in a "like for like" situation.

He has a busy season ahead of him - Friday testing F1, Renault 3.5 series and F1 simulator duties.

 

Ricciardo on the pace again as rain stops play

The second collective test of the Formula Renault 3.5 season came to a conclusion yesterday (Wednesday), once again in wet conditions at the Circuit de Catalunya. Perth’s Daniel Ricciardo continued his good form, setting the quickest time during the morning session. Despite the changeable weather conditions preventing Daniel from completing a new tyre run in the afternoon, the Red Bull Junior still managed to finish the test third quickest overall.

A wet track yesterday morning saw the drivers start the day on wet weather tyres. Daniel waited until the final hour of the session to show his true pace and set the quickest time of the test so far. Making the most of the improving conditions, Daniel continued to go quicker and quicker, cementing his time at the top of the timesheets.

Following a dry lunch break, track conditions had improved even further by the start of the afternoon session, finally allowing the drivers some experience of a dry Barcelona circuit. Daniel was as competitive in the dry as he had been in the wet and pitted for new tyres to take advantage of the dry conditions. A sudden downpour however soon cut short any dry running, forcing the drivers to switch back to wet tyres.

Track conditions continued to deteriorate as the afternoon progressed, until the track once again became too water logged to allow the drivers to continue. In light of the deteriorating conditions, the teams agreed to bring the session to an end two hours early. Despite not having the opportunity to complete a new tyre run, Daniel still finished the session third quickest overall.

Reflecting on the test, Daniel said, “The weather was really inconsistent so I think the first day of testing was probably more productive for us. At least we had chance to briefly try the dry tyres before it rained but unfortunately I didn’t get chance to go on new tyres before the rain started again which was a shame. Regardless of that I think we have worked well in the conditions and have been fast throughout, so all in all it’s been another positive test.”

 

STR drivers 'must prove their quality'

By Jonathan Noble and Gerhard Kuntschik Saturday, April 9th 2011, 04:53 GMT


Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi must deliver good enough results this season to prove they can be future candidates for Red Bull Racing now that they have a competitive car.

That is the view of their Scuderia Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost, who says that the time has come for his driver pairing to show they have the potential to drive for the world championship-winning team.

With Toro Rosso's third driver Daniel Ricciardo waiting on the sidelines and ready for promotion to a race seat if Buemi or Alguersuari disappoint, Tost has laid out just what is expected from his men in 2011.

"It's very simple and clear," he explained. "We are responsible in forming and educating drivers for Red Bull Racing. If we do not believe a driver can succeed at Red Bull Racing, he has no room in Scuderia Toro Rosso either.

"Though learning never ends in F1, Buemi and Alguersuari must prove now what they can do. Both of them improved very much over the winter - physically and mentally. But now we must see results."

And although Ricciardo is being considered for a race seat switch, Tost says that Buemi and Alguersuari also have a great opportunity - because one of them could be moved to Red Bull Racing for next year.

"Ricciardo has made a very good impression," explained Tost. "He has a lot of talent, and his output for the engineers is very good and useful.

"If one of our race drivers does not fulfil his expectations during this season, we will put Ricciardo into the cockpit. This puts some pressure on Buemi and Alguersuari. But, on the other hand, RBR might have to fill a vacancy at the end of 2011, so this would be a big chance."

 

Ricciardo goes quickest in Monza

Daniel Ricciardo was back on top form today, in collective testing for rounds five and six of the 2011 Formula Renault 3.5 Series. The Red Bull Junior put in an impressive performance around the Monza circuit in Italy to go quickest overall, ahead of the first qualifying session tomorrow.

During this morning’s free practice session, Daniel worked hard with his ISR team through a detailed test programme. The 21 year-old tried various set-up changes and completed 11 laps around the Monza circuit this morning.

This afternoon’s practice session saw the pace quicken, as all the driver began to show their true potential around the historic circuit. Daniel left it until the final minutes of collective testing to confidently show what he was capable of – going quickest by a healthy 0.137 seconds in the final minutes. Daniel’s time could not be topped – putting the Red Bull Junior quickest overall over today’s two test sessions.

 

It was a day of mixed emotions for Daniel Ricciardo in Monza today, as the young Australian displayed front running pace and endured more bad luck in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series. The Red Bull Junior qualified second for race one this morning, but his car was later disqualified for a tiny technical infringement, leaving Daniel with the task of fighting his way back through the field in race one this afternoon. Showing his qualifying pace was no fluke, Daniel stormed from the back of the grid to cross the line 6th. Furthermore in this afternoon’s second qualifying session Daniel took pole position ahead of race two tomorrow.

As the quickest driver in collective practice yesterday, Daniel was clearly a favourite for pole around the Monza circuit this morning. The Perth born racer didn’t disappoint – and went second quickest in the first 30 minute qualifying session.

Daniel’s misfortune was to strike before he even made it onto the grid however, as his ISR car was deemed to have made a technical infringement through an improperly secured rear floor skirt. Despite not having gained any performance advantage, Daniel saw all his times deleted and faced the prospect of starting the race from the back row of the grid.

Despite his frustration, Daniel wasted little time in showing his true pace in race one this afternoon. By lap five, he had already climbed to 20th, and lap 11 was already on the edge of the top ten in P13.

Daniel continued his progress through the field with a string of impressive overtaking moves and by lap 14 the ISR driver had avoided an incident at the chicane to move up to eighth place. Not happy to merely have made it into the points, Daniel kept pushing and at the chequered flag had reached sixth place.

With the Formula Renault 3.5 Series condensed to fit in around the FIA World Touring Car Championship this weekend, it was an usually busy day for the FR3.5 drivers. Qualifying for race two took place shortly after today’s race, with Daniel maintaining his positive momentum in the fight for pole position for round six of the season.

With cloudy skies threatening rain, Daniel was quick to put in a banker lap that put him second quickest at the half way point. With all the drivers improving their times on new tyres, Daniel also improved his lap time, and at the end of the session had set the second quickest time. With pole man Robert Wickens taking a four place grid penalty for an incident earlier on in race one, Daniel will consequently line up on pole tomorrow morning.

Reflecting on his penalty earlier today, Daniel said, “It is so frustrating to have been handed such a big penalty for such a small infringement. To go fast around here you have to hit the kerbs hard – and that’s all it takes to make small bolt come loose on the car. I was determined to fight my way back through the field this afternoon and show what we were really capable of. I really enjoyed my fight back up to 6th and I think it shows just what we could have done if we’d started on the front row as opposed to the back of the grid.

Putting this morning’s misfortune behind him, Daniel was happy to have bounced back in second qualifying. “Getting pole position for the second race tomorrow feels like a bit of justice for this morning,” said Daniel “and I think we’ve shown again that our pace is very consistent here. I’m just focusing on a good start – with the car we have a race win should definitely be the aim.”