...If he had the right car. Yeah... and perhaps so could half the field Daniel. Daniel Ricciardo says title chances would be "very good" in different machinery I'm not sure anymore about Ricciardo. I really liked him but the last year, he's really just talked too much. His three wins in 14 came at the expense of broken Merc cars... sure you have to be driving great to take advantage of the situations, but it's not like he battled out to win the races on an even keel. He battled for sure on a couple of those laps... but it was not even car to even car at that point. Winning is winning, I wouldn't ever discredit his wins, but let's have a bit of intellectual honesty to go with it. I feel he has yet to prove himself to be talking that way. A talented driver for sure, but he keeps relying on his 3 somewhat dubious wins to support the rhetoric. I think he's getting further and further ahead of himself. Just because he smiles when he says it doesn't negate that he's starting to talk like an arrogant also-ran relying on his past achievements to set his current status. He's not there... but it seems to be going down that path. That's probably too harsh, but I'm just disappointed when he keeps talking about "if this or that" changed.
Underestimate him at your own risk. I've seen his capabilities. IMO the way he handles himself in close quarters and the speed he still has in those situations is all you need to know he's not just some other chap. Last year sure looked like he faded somewhat, but I believe that can be pointed to the car more than the driver. That, and an underestimated (by others) Kvyat probably didn't help his current reputation by some...
Based on what? - He was driving a heap of under powered junk last year so you couldn't really make an accurate judgement of his talent! I'd see how he gets on this season before even considering to start to write him off!
It's not that he's not talented... But he's talking as if he's proven...that he's already equal and belongs in the same company as the greats as if the three wins were these epic battles that his pure ability got him. He's been there two years and he's already talking as if he's being held back and deserves a top ride...because of those handicapped wins.
I don;t see what the fuss is all about. Even Bas can win the WDC in the Mercs i think. What Ricci is saying is true after all.
He is probably getting slightly bothered by the fact that he has not the right car at the time, that he is contracted to Red Bull for the long term so might miss this year's silly season which will be very interesting, and might still be saddled to an uncompetitive car next season, so will miss the opportunity...
Im very happy for Vettel but he needs to be pushed as any other champion should. I see Daniel as a good fit at Ferrari. Harmony only goes so far.
He was actually asked the very question today and said he wouldn't mind being teammates again with Ricci
I'm not a total Seb mark... but I don't think Seb has to fear Ricciardo. I don't view 2014 as some sort of coup for Danny... or that he got the best of Seb in any way just like I don't believe Kvyat really got over on Danny last year. One driver had considerably more car issues than the other in both cases. Seb's car barely worked all season compared to Ric's. I don't think real champions fear competition. My favorite racer Matt Mladin lived and breathed getting challenged. I'm sure on any given Sunday Ric could beat Seb, but I don believe that experience counts for nothing. I just think Ric has to prove himself on the track today rather than referencing what was.