Ricciardo - The future

As much as I'd love to see Ric in Red, I think Horner is right. China will be more important in the decision than I think is apparent right now. Ferrari is treating their #2 like ****, their strategy sucks, they have a history of blowing their WCC efforts, and honestly, it doesn't seem like he'd fit in in the Ferrari garage, which means he'd be treated like Kimi is now, or worse. RB is more his style, youthful and enthusiastic. They pulled off a miracle this weekend, sure, but its weekends like this that can change a team for the better. They proved to themselves they have what it takes, and they can win. The crew was flawless and they gave a nice big finger to the teams that have been royally screwing up pit stops. I have a feeling they will win a few more times this year because of the morale.

I've never been a fan of Red Bull. Since they kicked Ferraris ass I've seen them only as a rival, and a flash in the pan in the history of F1. After this weekend, I have a new respect for the team. They're the real deal in my book. Not that that means anything, I'm just a random Joe Schmoe on the internet. But as a professional race team member and mechanic myself, I've been where they are, and come back from almost guaranteed defeat to take a win, and I know what it takes. Not on F1 level obviously, but I can empathize. I'll be rooting for them from now on, to come in 2nd

 

But that’s the problem, the team won’t overcome their strategic inadequacies anytime soon. They just continued from last year with their inability to make the critical calls...and even ones that shouldn’t be so hard. Add that Ferrari don’t seem to have the same commitment or ability to continue the pace of development that Merc does, in my opinion, make the championship out of reach because in F1, it’s a game of minutia and capitalizing on opportunities.

Red Bull on the other hand are experts at that. I’m not sure they’ve won any of those races by not doing that. Ric is an animal at crushing you if you or the team make a mistake. But unfortunately that the the only way they can win...if someone else makes a mistake or has issues.

 

The way they have been treating Kimi I think he would rather go to Merc

Maybe he can join Ferrari to replace Vettel in 2021

 

As i said before, it's only woth to get hiom if they let him fight Seb fair and square...to screw him like they are doing to Kimi they might as well use the Torpedo kid!

 

If true this could get interesting, maybe Lewis will have a real teammate next year that is not a number 2.
http://www.news.com.au/sport/motorsport/formula-one/mercedes-ricciardo-contract-bombshell/news-story/24a0cae411c2beec87328ef9490cdf29

 

This is from 25 april ,and Ricci denied any talks already..

 

Already said it, can see a straight swap Ricci/Sainz coming soon

 

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/ricciardo-should-leave-red-bull-for-ferrari-rosberg-1041706/



Ricciardo should leave Red Bull for Ferrari - Rosberg

 

The elton contract delay is interesting. Is Ricci waiting to see if he can slide in there?

 

Renault and Red Bull share the same engine (at the moment).

But Red Bull is well ahead of Renault in chassis technology and team efficiency in general.

I'm not sure it would be a good move for Ricciardo.

A seat at Mercedes or Ferrari would be a better fit, IMO.

 

Retiring isn't quitting ...

 

I would love to see Ricci go to Merc if for no other reason than to beat Lewis.

 

Mercedes, Ferrari wrong move for Ricciardo says Marko

MAY 30, 2018



Red Bull has made clear yet again that it wants Daniel Ricciardo to stay at the team.

While Max Verstappen struggles, Australian Ricciardo is in top form but out of contract at the end of 2018.

"He's made himself a few million more expensive," 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg smiled after Ricciardo won at Monaco.

Lewis Hamilton agreed, saying: "I hear he earns less (than Verstappen), even though he does more. He's currently the leader at Red Bull."

Red Bull boss Christian Horner said the team wants Ricciardo to stay.

"Daniel knows the capabilities of the team, he sees how well the team suits him, and I hope that in the next few months we will settle all the issues," he said.

However, Ricciardo remains linked with a potential switch to Mercedes or Ferrari.

Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko told Auto Bild after Monaco: "For us, nothing changes.

"We want to keep him and Daniel knows it. Why should he go to Mercedes or Ferrari? To be a number 2 driver?

"With us, Daniel has equal opportunities with the same equipment and no team orders. I think he knows that too," he added.

Marko said he wants to get a new contract signed "as soon as possible".

 

I think that Mercedes should make a "take it or leave it" offer to Lewis. No other team would meet his contract demands.

 

Well, Marko would say that, wouldn't he ?


Red Bull isn't a team known for rewarding its drivers, even when they win, and Marko is apparently the one who decides how much they should receive.

 

Ricciardo...moving on up to the big Time!

F1 POWER RANKINGS: Ricciardo storms up the charts
Monaco Daniel Ricciardo
30 May 2018

Lewis Hamilton moves into top spot in our index of driver form for the first time this season, but Daniel Ricciardo is hot on his heels after a stunning drive to victory in Monaco…
How it’s done

• In a new feature for 2018, our team of experts assess each driver after every Grand Prix and score them according to their performance across the weekend - taking machinery out of the equation
• Our experts' scores are then combined to produce an ongoing overall ranking which reflects driver form - taking only the three most recent races into account

This week’s Top 10
Image Unavailable, Please Login

It’s been coming. Hamilton has been in impressive form since winning in Baku. The championship leader made it two from two with victory in Spain, then followed it up with a podium last time out in Monaco. Mercedes expected to struggle on the Principality’s unique layout. But Hamilton sprinkled a bit of that magic that he so often does when things get difficult. He just missed out on a front row spot to Sebastian Vettel, but out-qualifying both the other Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen and his team mate Valtteri Bottas was a good bit of damage limitation. And while he complained about the tyres for most of the race, the Briton converted his grid slot into third place to retain the championship lead. A rise of two places to reach the summit of our index was the least he deserved…



Image Unavailable, Please Login

Daniel Ricciardo was clinging on to his position in our rankings after a lacklustre couple of races. But his performance in Monaco was close to absolute perfection. He was fastest across all three practice sessions. Then fastest in all three segments of qualifying. And to complete the set, he converted pole position into a first Monaco Grand Prix victory, even after his MGU-K system failed. The engine problem was so concerning, Red Bull boss Christian Horner said he was told by his team that they might have to retire the car. But they and Ricciardo found a way. It was arguably his greatest drive and just the kind of performance that is deserving of moving him to within touching distance of our top spot.



Image Unavailable, Please Login

Charles Leclerc has been on quite some run of late. His first F1 points in Baku were followed up by another top 10 finish in Spain. Continuing that run on his doorstep was always going to be tall order, given Sauber’s weakness is a lack of downforce. But the Monegasque gave it a good go. He made it into Q2 for the third successive race and finished ahead of team mate Marcus Ericsson in every single session. A brake problem led to him crashing into Brendon Hartley, but it was a decent performance all round and his recent run, combined with the lacklustre results of others, boosts him one place.



Image Unavailable, Please Login

All good things eventually come to an end. After two weeks on top of the pile, Valtteri Bottas drops three places. Mercedes had expected a tough weekend – and so it proved. They were third-best. But the Finn’s team mate did a better job of damage limitation. Hamilton was ahead in every single session, with Bottas finishing two places down in fifth in the race. The damage was done in qualifying, given the lack of overtaking opportunities, but it was still a reasonable haul of points all things considered.



Image Unavailable, Please Login

Like Bottas, Fernando Alonso has slipped down three places this week after his first retirement of the season. It’s a shame considering the double world champion felt he was “cruising around” in seventh before transmission problems struck. That would have been his sixth successive top-8 finish of the season. Even so, it was yet another impressive drive and there are plenty of positives to take to Montreal.



Image Unavailable, Please Login

Second is nothing to be ashamed of for Sebastian Vettel. He also trimmed Hamilton’s championship lead by three points. But based on the pace the Prancing Horse showed in Monaco last year, when they took a dominant one-two, and combine that with the track being one of Mercedes’ weakest, Vettel will have hoped for more. Despite ending a run of three Grands Prix without a podium, such was the strength of performances from others around him, the German still drops a place in our index.



Image Unavailable, Please Login

Pierre Gasly is no stranger to our Power Rankings, having made a wave as early as race two with a spectacular drive to fourth. However, he was absent in our last edition having been wiped out on lap one in Spain when Romain Grosjean spun across the track in a plume of smoke. Toro Rosso found some pace between Thursday practice and Saturday in Monaco – and it was Gasly who made the most of it. A brilliant lap saw him make Q3. He then ran longer than anyone else on the hypersoft tyres, which ultimately boosted his track position. Seventh was a fine reward for a stunning drive on his Monaco F1 debut.



Image Unavailable, Please Login

This has not been a vintage start to the season for Esteban Ocon. Already, he’s clocked up more retirements than he had in total last year. Before Monaco, he only had a single point to his name. His team mate had 17, including a stunning podium in Baku. But Ocon has not let his head drop. Perez had the upper hand at the start of the Monte Carlo weekend, but his French team mate closed the gap quickly, surpassed him on outright pace and then never looked back. His race pace was strong throughout. In fact, at times, he was the fastest car on track. The result was sixth place and our second new entry this week.



Image Unavailable, Please Login

This was Carlos Sainz’s fourth successive points finish, but the fact he was disappointed shows just how much higher the Spaniard has pushed his personal targets. He was quick on the hypersofts, but struggled to get the ultrasofts to work and ended up behind team mate Nico Hulkenberg, despite generally having better pace throughout the weekend. Tenth place was something, but not enough to stop a three-place drop in our index.



Image Unavailable, Please Login

Kimi Raikkonen got back on the board in Monaco after his second retirement of the year last time out in Spain. It was a solid, but not spectacular performance from the Finn, who could not replicate the mesmerising pace he showed, particularly in qualifying, last year. All weekend, he was just a few tenths off his team mate, but he kept his nose clean and picked up a good haul of points, which could be crucial for Ferrari in the constructors’ championship. And that was just enough to cling on to the final place in rankings.

 

So Autosport is saying Riccardo win with 25 percent hp down was as good as Schumacher finishing on the podium at Spain when he only had 5th gear. Riccardo drive was great, but RB said they had a good shot of winning Monaco because HP really does not matter. I would not say his drive was equivalent or even better.

 

Right. When I read stuff like that, all I can say is "writers have to write".

 

Monaco needs a revised track layout. They need to dig into the ocean and reclaim more land