Dan Ricciardo

[rjbetty]

I was pleased to see that F1 rejects have got their season review up; I've just finished reading it now (seems they forgot to list their top 3 rejects though).

One rating that made an impression on me was Daniel Ricciardo ranked in 12th. They said that Mark Hughes (a guy who's writing I really respect) went further and put him 10th. That's made me curious as to what people think of Ricciardo.

On the face of it, it looks like he was pretty anonymous this year and the stats show that he was outscored by rookie team-mate Vergne.

But then Michael Schumacher knows from 2012 how misleading points statistics compared to team-mates are. The Bahrain Q3 lap really looked something special to me. He was only +0.490sec off Vettel in 6th, in a car that isn't as good. I don't know, but maybe he actually put in the best lap that afternoon (i.e. if it was a spec series with equal cars, Daniel would have been on pole).

But what has made as much of an impression on me as that was the season opener on home ground. He was caught up in a first corner collision that I don't think was his fault and had to pit for a new nose. I read from somewhere that for part of the rest of the race, Ricciardo was the 3rd or 4th quickest out there. That's in a field where both McLarens and Red Bulls were at the front. What's more, the car was somewhat damaged and in less than it's optimal state.

But what really made a mark for me was the way he described his final lap, where he went from 11th to 9th, and the way he described overtaking team-mate Vergne coming out of turn 13. He sounded so confident and so on top of the job, it was seriously impressive to me. And this was with a likeable attitude too. I didn't sense any arrogance in his personality.

I remember people talking about him on here 3 years ago. I didn't know anything about how good he was, but I do remember people saying that though he seemed very good, he wasn't that amazing. I kind of go with that view a little, and hope it's wrong. I see him as the new Mark Webber, a very top driver but just lacking that little extra to be champion or one of the greats. On the surface, his HRT outings seemed to back this up. He got on terms with Liuzzi and started beating him, buuuuut... it could be argued that though he did well, maybe there wasn't much that was Senna-like, or Alonso 2001-like. But Ricciardo is a driver I'm following with interest. I hope he has a big future ahead of him and can beat Vergne next season.

Interested to know what people think about Dan...

[Tazio]

It is hard to judge his talent when not running in a car competing at the top however; if my memory serves me correctly he was fast, and safe off the line, and almost always finished ahead of where he started with only one DNF. He was regularly well up into the points 2/3 of the way in several races only to fall back (usually because of tire strategy) in 2012 and scored in 6 races compared to 4 for his talented, but mistake prone teammate JEV with 4 DNF's although he did have help (Mike driving up his ass comes to mind) IMHO he (DR) could replace MW at RB and get the same results, perhaps better :

[CNR]

if only toro rosso where still using red bull cars Ricciardo dominates F1 test in Abu Dhabi - Speedcafe

rookie testing at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. The Red Bull rookie blitzed his contemporaries, working his way down to a competitive 1m39.616s – less than 0.3s slower than Sebastian Vettel’s pole position time.

[TheFamousEccles]

CNR beat me to the above info. DR has been Renault 2.0 and British F3 champion - that series in particular enjoys a strong rep for producing kiddies that can drive a bit.

Obviously, I'm Australian and I am totally biased:-!

[wedge]

On paper they seem equal but Ricciardo seems to have an edge because the race that most sticks in my mind was Korea. Mechanical failure robbed him of a great drive for a points finish.

CNR beat me to the above info. DR has been Renault 2.0 and British F3 champion - that series in particular enjoys a strong rep for producing kiddies that can drive a bit.

Obviously, I'm Australian and I am totally biased:-!

Similar CV to Alguesari and JEV.

[TheFamousEccles]

Yes, there is no shortage of talent around. I guess the unknown of any talented rookie is that undefinable "it", the ability to pick the car up and go faster than it otherwise should. Both JEV and DR can be said to have done that in the STR this year - just not to the extent SV did by pulling a race win from his arse in one.

I hope DR is able to recognise and take advantage of any and all opportunities to good effect in the coming season, obviously, but I am impressed by JEV also, and given a fast car these Lads should be able challenge for track position at the pointy end.

[jens]

I think Ricciardo has shown glimpses of promise throughout his career. Won convincingly in British F3; almost won WSR title on his debut season; outraced Liuzzi during their time at HRT; saved a few point finishes in the second half of 2012 in a difficult car. But Vergne isn't an easy rival, so it will be paramount to really impress this year and come out on top in the team-mate battle. 2013 is particularly crucial for both STR drivers. Webber and Massa can't hold onto top drives for much longer any more and Ricciardo has to be among those, who should convince team principals to hire him. If 2013 is a miss, the next generation (including next RBR protégé da Costa) is knocking on the door and you can become a forgotten man rather quickly.

Hopefully the Toro Rosso car in 2013 is an improvement, so the drivers can really show their worth.