It was a vital learning experience and at the end of the year, Ricciardo was announced as a Toro Rosso driver for 2012, where he spent two seasons before a promotion to Red Bull. Daniel started the season with a retirement at the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix after his Renault R.S.20 overheated. In this next race, the 2020 Styrian Grand Prix, Ricciardo was running in sixth place with two laps remaining, but was overtaken by Lance Stroll and Lando Norris. Ricciardo daniel ricciardo best moments qualified eleventh at the 2020 Hungarian Grand Prix and finished the race in eighth place. Ricciardo crossed the line in seventh place at the French Grand Prix having been embroiled in a four-car battle, but was given two separate five-second penalties on the final lap. This was for failing to re-join the track safely after overtaking Lando Norris, and then overtook Kimi Räikkönen off-track, resulting in him being dropped out of the points.
Ricciardo felt that his performance in SQ2 was really good and the final lap in SQ3 was worthy of a P5 start. However, the Aussie scored a P4 start and the entire team rejoiced at this awesome result. Ricciardo’s racing career hit a stumbling block due to a hand injury that required surgery and rehabilitation, causing him to miss several races. Despite this, he chose to view the incident in a positive light, seeing it as part of his transformative journey rather than a setback. After parting ways with McLaren at the end of 2022, it seemed Ricciardo’s F1 career might have been over. However, after a successful test at Silverstone with Red Bull in 2023, he was given one more shot, this time with AlphaTauri.
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen led tributes to the Australian, who was one of the leading stars of the hit Netflix series ‘Drive to Survive’. It was a race that summed up Ricciardo’s talent and personality, with his subsequent cheeky comment – “sometimes you just have to lick the stamp and send it” – adding the icing on the cake. Ricciardo delivered an overtaking masterclass in China in 2018 as he climbed from sixth to first with a full arsenal of moves around the varied Shanghai layout, leaving rivals with no answers for both his clever car placement and outright speed. More than eight years on from his maiden triumph, and just over a year on from his most recent, we had a go at ranking Ricciardo’s wins, with the full list presented below in reverse order. † Did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.
Hülkenberg finished in fifth, contributing to Renault's best finish since the team returned to the sport in 2016. Ricciardo qualified eighth for the Singapore Grand Prix but was disqualified due to exceeding the MGU-K power limit during Q1, relegating him to the back. He had an eventful race, moving up to 12th by lap 10 but then suffering a puncture after contact with Antonio Giovinazzi.
Ricciardo replaced another highly respected Australian in Mark Webber, but as the only driver not driving for Mercedes to win a grand prix that year he trounced the German to the point he effectively kicked him out of the door to join Ferrari. Daniel Ricciardo comfortably defeated Sebastian Vettel in 2014Heading into the 2014 season, Sebastian Vettel was unstoppable – quite literally. Getting that fastest lap in Singapore did not move the needle in any way in terms of keeping him onboard, either.
After that, Ricciardo gradually gained positions while the rest of the drivers stopped again or suffered accidents, such as Verstappen’s on lap 51, thus climbing up to third place. The goal for the race, considering that the most superior Ferraris were starting from behind, was to finish in the top five. On Sunday, the “Honey Badger” overtook Gasly on the first lap, placing him behind Bottas, Verstappen, and Hamilton. At the end of 2018, Ricciardo announced his departure from Red Bull, and in 2019 he signed for Renault, thus embarking on a new project in search of the long-awaited world championship. However, Renault did not build an overly competitive car, and the Australian struggled a bit as he adapted to the car, although he improved markedly as the races went by. The “Honey Badger” completed a perfect weekend, without any rival, finishing first in the three free practice sessions and the three qualifying sessions, thus starting from the pole position.
Gripped by the match, Ricciardo stayed up much later than would be normal on the eve of a grand prix. "I wanted to make a statement. All these things keep me up. There are so many things that happened over the weekend that keep me up." Lawson is one name who has frequently been linked with a spot on the F1 grid with the Red Bull family after the 22-year-old's substitute showing last year earning plenty of praise. His team have solidified themselves as a strong midfield outfit, sitting in sixth place with 34 points in the constructors’ standings, albeit just seven points clear of their nearest rivals Haas who are ready to close down the deficit. “I’ve been very targeted on the Red Bull family and staying here, so I haven’t allowed myself to think of other opportunities, other teams. You can say in a way it’s very narrow-minded, but it’s where I am and where I feel I want to be.
In China, Ricciardo would finish fourth after narrowly losing out to teammate Max Verstappen on the last lap. Starting fourth at the Bahrain Grand Prix, and after a poor safety car restart which dropped him three places, he was able to pass Felipe Massa and finish in fifth. He endured a second retirement in four races at the Russian Grand Prix, pulling out on lap 5 due to brake issues. Ricciardo scored his first podium of the year, with third in Spain, albeit finishing over a minute behind the leaders. He qualified fifth at the Monaco Grand Prix, and a strong overcut allowed him to jump Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas for another third place.
The Mexican driver Sergio Pérez reportedly races with a picture of Pope John Paul II taped to the inside of his car. The former world champion Sebastian Vettel laces lucky silver coins into his race boots. Ricciardo’s impressive career was recognised when he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2022 Australia Day Honours. Despite his success at McLaren, Ricciardo left the team at the end of 2022 and became the third driver for Red Bull Racing for the 2023 season. During his first season with Red Bull, Ricciardo secured his first three F1 wins in Canada, Hungary, and Belgium.
Despite Ricciardo’s great race, Renault was disqualified from the Grand Prix 10 days later due to a brake irregularity, which resulted in the loss of all the work done. However, on the positive side, Ricciardo showed that he was already comfortable with the car and ready to perform at his best. In the race, Ricciardo demonstrated his great skill by making his way through the grid, completing successful overtakes consistently, to cross the finish line in a fantastic sixth position. The Hungaroring circuit is one of the best for Daniel Ricciardo, although the 2018 GP did not start well. The Red Bull driver could only qualify twelfth, so he would have to overtake many positions to score good points in the race.
His victory in Canada broke the chain of six Mercedes victories that marked the beginning of the 2014 season. Ricciardo failed to finish in the Malaysian Grand Prix, but managed to record his first points of the 2014 season at the Bahrain Grand Prix, where he finished fourth, after starting in 13th position. Ricciardo would not wait long for his first podium, securing third place at the Spanish Grand Prix. Despite dropping to fifth early on, he regained third after problems for teammate Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen.