How Good Was Daniel Ricciardo Actually?

Daniel Ricciardo was supposed to be Red Bull's golden boy, the driver that was hyped up to be the next Sebastian Vettel, but we all know how that didn't exactly pan out, despite the honey badger being one of the most loved and talented racers to never win a drivers championship in F1 history. And just like you, I'll be disappointed to see the F1 grid without him. But you're probably wondering, just how good was Daniel Ricciardo actually? Well, Daniel Ricciardo's love for racing began at a young age when he would watch his father, Giuseppe, race at the local circuit in his hometown of Perth, Australia. And once Daniel started karting himself, at just 9 years old, there was no going back. See, Ricciardo was determined to make it to the big leagues, and after years of grinding through amateur circuits, he would get his shot in the Formula Renault 2.0 series, where he started to get some recognition after finishing 6th place in Italy. But soon after, he would be competing with Valtteri Bottas for the Euro Cup Formula Championship. And come on guys, you can't tell me this wasn't an epic battle. The championship was decided by only 3 points, as Bottas narrowly edged out the Aussie 139-136. Man, talk about unlucky. But then, in the middle of the 2008 season, Ricciardo was finally given his big break in the Formula 3 series. Although he would go on to race in just 2 Grand Prix's during the season, in a grid starting Nico Hülkenberg and Jules Bianchi, he had finally gotten one step closer to his dream. Then, in 2009, he moved over to the British Formula 3 Championship to partner with Carlin Racing, and Daniel was more than ready to compete. See, Ricciardo needed to prove that he was on a whole different level compared to the other drivers, so he went on to do this. His aggressive overtakes and dominant driving helped him win the championship in a freaking landslide. He finished the season, get this, 87 points ahead of 2nd place, and his popularity soared like never before. But his performance wasn't enough to get him into the big leagues quite yet, as in October 2009, he switched over to the Formula Renault 3.5 series, racing alongside 3-time Le Mans winner Brendan Hartley. Unsurprisingly, Ricciardo had a very impressive season, starting on pole in 6 of his 12 races, and even winning 3 of them. However, we all remember him for his disastrous incident in Silverstone towards the end of the year. The Englishman has been so strong in qualifying, the Vortec hook, it's very sideways, almost hits him, yeah, it collides with Ricciardo, Ricciardo rolls out of the race. But not ready to give up just yet, Ricciardo needed a near miracle to pull out the championship win, and he got pretty close, finishing in 2nd, 1st, and 4th in the final three races of the season. But he would ultimately lose out to Mikhail Alishin in the standings by just 2 points. But by then, he was already on Formula 1 teams' radars, and his dreams finally became a reality after he was given his first F1 contract with HRT Racing. He made his debut at the 2011 Silverstone Grand Prix, the very race that caused him to lose out on the Formula Renault title the year before. But this time, he managed to finish the race. Granted, it was a 19th place finish, but hey, at least it's a step up from his last appearance. He was a little bit shy at first, just like all of us would be, but he was well spoken, and he loved what he was doing out there on the track. He mentioned that he was very proud to represent his country, and everyone, Australian or not, was gaining respect for the rookie. See, Ricciardo was a Red Bull driver, and after one year with the HRT team, Red Bull had a seat for him within their sister team, Toro Rosso, where he would be racing alongside Jean-Eric Vergne. And well, you could say that he was pretty excited, telling the media, To be honest, I am still jumping up and down with excitement at the news. And he was able to start the season with his home Grand Prix, and he flipped a switch, getting a P9 finish in just his first race with the team, setting himself up for future success. But he would end up struggling to keep up with his teammate over the course of the season, losing out in the teammate points battle 16-10. And he needed to make a statement if he wanted to continue his dream, and he would, at least for one more year, when he was signed on with Toro Rosso for the 2013 season, but even he knew that the stakes were high, saying, My targets in 2013 will have to be more ambitious. But after a disappointing home Grand Prix to start off the season, things were not looking too hot. In his make or break season, he needed some impressive performances, and luckily for the honey badger, his hard work would pay off. In Italy, Ricciardo was able to fend off Romain Grosjean for 7th place, slowly silencing his doubters, and showing that he belonged in the sport. And then, after outscoring his teammate 20-13 in the 2013 season, and outqualifying Wern 30-7 in his two Toro Rosso seasons, he finally got his shot with the head honcho, Red Bull Racing. He was entering as the apprentice to Sebastian Vettel, who was coming off of 4 straight championships, but he still had high hopes and high expectations. Heading into the first race of the season, he had home field advantage while racing in Melbourne, and the fans support bolstered him to a front row qualifying performance. And in the race, he further proved that he belonged, getting a 2nd place finish and wowing the crowd with an impressive overtake on his own teammate, Vettel. But after a fuel of irregularity, Ricciardo would be disqualified and stripped of his first career podium, but you guys would not believe how well he responded. After placing on the podium in both Spain and Monaco, he would finally get his name in the win column in Canada. See, Ricciardo started the race in 6th, but after some excellent strategy, he found himself in 3rd, and then it was time to strike. With 5 laps to go, he would pass Sergio Perez, and then a couple laps later, coming into the last corner, he would pass Nico Rosberg with the help of DRS for the lead. And after a massive crash between Felipe Massa and Sergio Perez, he would cruise to victory under the safety car, proving that he could hang with the best of the best, and potentially even be a future championship threat. The 24-year-old was on fire, winning twice more in his rookie season, finishing the year in 3rd place, while outscoring Vettel by a whopping 71 points. And the jolly Aussie was happy with his performance, saying, This year has exceeded all my expectations. It's been really nice. I've enjoyed every bit of it. See, Vettel sensed that Ricciardo was the soon-to-be top dog at Red Bull, and so he made a career-changing move, going to Ferrari, looking to bring some glory to the renowned team, and Ricciardo was given the clear number one spot, now driving alongside Daniel Kvyat. And I'm really sorry guys, I watched like 4 videos trying to pronounce that, so my apologies. Four videos, huh? Maybe try five next time! But due to a very uncompetitive car, the Red Bull team was no longer the powerhouse that it once was. See, a driver can only be as good as his car, and so, as the car's competitiveness diminished, so did Ricciardo's race results. And there was a lack of luck as well, and I promise you, I am not trying to sound like Lando right now, but you gotta admit, when Nico Rosberg damaged his car in the Hungarian Grand Prix, it forced him to settle for a P3 placement. To make matters worse, that was his first podium of the year, and his 10th race, which told fans just how far the mighty Red Bull had fallen. Although he would fail to win a race that season, his shining moment came in Singapore, where he came in second and out of the fastest lap of the race to his weekend. But one of the headlines for that race was not even Ricciardo, it was this strange man who somehow found his way onto the track, endangering himself, but still made for some pretty funny reactions. Oh, and a safety car. What is this? Just a man going for a stroll alongside the track. There are somewhere in the region of, what, 89,000 fans here this evening, and one of them has thought, you know what, I'll go for a walk on the track. Well, that is just lunacy. And Ricciardo's response was solid gold. I hope he got more followers. Speaking of more followers, I'd really appreciate it if you, yes, you specifically, would drop a like and subscribe to my channel. But enough of that, let's get back into the racing, cause in F1, you never know how a team will bounce back. And Red Bull did so pretty well, starting off the season much more competitive than the last. After placing 4th in 4 of his first 5 races, he was able to impress at the Monaco GP and would have won if not for this critical pit stop error. See, Ricciardo was running very well, and it was looking like he would win with ease. But all of a sudden, when he went in for a pit stop, his tires were just straight up not there. In a post-race interview, he was clearly frustrated and saying, A few years later, looking back on it, he said, I'm not gonna lie, Monaco 2016 haunted me for 2 years. But you know, there is one thing about Red Bull Daniel Ricciardo, and that, is that he could bounce back. And well, oh yeah, and there was one more major detail, cause Daniel Kvyat, sadly, was not doing so hot. So Red Bull had to reach into their back pocket mid-season and hope for another weapon. And they found one. His name? Max Verstappen. With a new teammate, Ricciardo found some new energy, going on a tear, going P2 3 times out of 4 races in the middle of the season. See, he had found his groove, and in Malaysia, he was finally able to earn his first win in 2 years, with Max right behind him to complete a 1-2 finish. And he was also able to do his iconic shoeie celebration, which had now become a staple to every Daniel Ricciardo win. Even getting Horner, Verstappen, and Rosberg to do it as well. Now, many of you F1 fans may remember the 2016 season as the season that Rosberg finally took down Hamilton. But many forget that Ricciardo's efforts were enough to bring him to a 3rd place championship finish, much better than his 8th place finish the year before. But, as you can obviously tell, he was not yet able to get close enough to the championship, because Mercedes had become the top dog. And a clear one. However, he still did his best, and even though he started off his 2017 season by retiring his car in 2 of the first 4 races, he bounced back once again. He was able to earn 3 straight 3rd place finishes, leading up to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where he had yet another legacy performance. After qualifying in a frustrating place in 10th, Ricciardo was gonna need to make up some ground. And after pitting early, followed by a Force India induced red flag, he found himself in 5th place. And in the race restart, Ricciardo showed off his elite overtaking abilities, passing 3 cars and finding himself sitting nice and happy in 3rd place. But then, the two drivers ahead of him, Hamilton and Vettel, both had to pit for their own separate reasons. And Ricciardo's impressive 3 car overtake had proven to be more useful than anyone could have imagined, as he coasted to a victory to add another to his name. Ricciardo was showing off his insane ability to bounce back from a tough position, and although he did not come out on top this time, he was able to stun once again with his comeback driving. See, at Silverstone that year, he qualified in 19th due to a turbo failure. But all was not lost. He made an amazing comeback, taking 14 positions during the race in order to get a 5th place finish. Now, he was becoming a fan favorite on the track, but he was also growing more and more as an off-track favorite, along with his teammate, Max Verstappen. I'm sure we all remember their boisterous personalities and cheery attitudes which made them easy to like, and they seemed like the perfect off-track duo. They were fun to watch, but even then, you have to remember that they are competitors and that they will do anything to win. After winning in China to start off the 2018 season on a hot note, the F1 series traveled to Azerbaijan, and what ensued was one of the most frustrating crashes of all time. On lap 40, as Ricciardo attempted to perform an overtake, he went right into the back of Max, which not only took himself out of the race, but his teammate as well. The consensus was that it was Verstappen's fault, and even though the drivers were clearly both frustrated, Ricciardo handled it with class, and although he could have exploded and gone crazy, he just looked on to the next race. And just two races later, he not only redeemed himself, but also redeemed his disastrous 2016 race at Monaco, when he traveled down to Monte Carlo once again. After getting pole in qualifying, he was in a great position, and this time, he made sure not to throw it all away, and so did his team. Daniel was able to ward off the attacking drivers and coast to a dominant victory, taking a lot of the weight off his shoulders that he still held from two years prior. But then, all of a sudden, Ricciardo made a surprising move in August of 2018. After his fairly successful years at Red Bull, Ricciardo wanted a new challenge, and for him, that meant moving teams. And so, replacing Carlos Sainz, he took the job at Renault, saying that it was one of the most difficult decisions of his entire career. With the news out there, all he could do was give it his all, and that is exactly what he did. Although he never found himself on top for the rest of the season, or even on the podium, Red Bull fans were still dreading his departure, and they knew that they would miss the driver when he made his move. But the move to Renault was not all that he thought it would be. Although he was outracing his teammate, Nico Hulkenberg, quite well, it was nothing like his time at Red Bull. But he was able to get close to the podium in Italy, where he finished in 4th place. Finishing the season with 54 points was not quite as stellar as his Red Bull days, but he still broke the top 10, optimistic for the seasons ahead. And when talking about the 2020 season, he said, I feel like we've got a strong direction on next year. But boy, didn't we all feel optimistic about that year. With a new teammate, and a shortened season, a much better year was definitely a possibility. But even though he was optimistic about the Renault team, there was an open spot next to Lando Norris at McLaren. And when offered the position, Ricciardo decided to make yet another move, announcing that he would leave Renault at the end of the season. Knowing that it would be his last season with the team, and after starting off the season in a very mediocre way, people began to believe that he had made the right move. But once he finally caught steam, he was rolling. After finishing in 4th place, 3 times in 6 races, he was finally able to get a taste of the beautiful podium once again, at the Eiffel Grand Prix. And not only was it his first podium with the team, but it was the team's first podium, dating back to 2011, proving that Ricciardo could maybe be right about Renault and their potential. And then, 2 races later, he was able to fight off his former Red Bull teammate Guyac to grab his second podium of the season. But after finishing the season with an 11 race point scoring streak, it was time for another team to say goodbye to the honey badger. You could tell that Ricciardo was still the same exciting, fun driver, but he just did not have the skills that he used to. But that was until the 2021 Italian GP, where he put together an amazing drive against all odds. After starting on the front row, Ricciardo was able to take the lead heading into turn 1. And thanks to a Hamilton Verstappen crash, Daniel was able to fend off other drivers, including his teammate, to get back up on the top step for the first time in what felt like an eternity for F1 fans. It was amazing to see, and Ricciardo was emotional while giving us hope that he might be back to his old form. But that would not be the case, cause after finishing the 2021 season with 45 less points than his teammate, and an even worse 2022 season with his 37 compared to Lando's 122, it was clear that his best days were over, and it looked like that would be the end of Daniel Ricciardo. See, Ricciardo was given some love from his former team Red Bull, as they gave him the position of the third driver of the team. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner even said It is great to bring Daniel back into the Red Bull family. He has enormous talent and such a brilliant character. I know the whole factory is excited to be welcoming him home. And trust me, he spoke for everybody. But after a horrific start to the season at Alphatari for Nick DeVries, Ricciardo was given the seat, and people hoped that the time off would help. But unfortunately for him, he would break a finger, and it would keep him out of 4 races of an already shortened season for the Aussie. He still kept good spirits, and he came back strong, scoring points at Mexico with a B7 performance thanks to a 4th place qualifying, and his team thought, why not give him another shot? So they gave him the 2024 seat. After Mexico, Ricciardo seemed confident saying that there was lots of good energy, but would it carry over to the next year? Unfortunately, it would not. After having his point total almost doubled by his teammate Yuki Tsunada, rumors started going around about whether or not Ricciardo's seat was safe. And unluckily for him, it was not, as up-and-comer Liam Lawson was waiting in the wings for his shot. And after the Singapore GP, it was pretty much certain, as Ricciardo gave a heart-crushing interview where he was clearly emotional, knowing that his long career was coming to an end. While there will always be hope of another Daniel Ricciardo comeback, this is probably it, and the last chapter of Daniel Ricciardo's storied, loved, and impressive career that F1 fans will never forget. Make sure to like and subscribe for the best Formula 1 content out there, and check out these videos while you're at it.