IP
IN P ROF I L E
D a n i el Ri cci ard o
Then I went straight back to
my apartment.
It’s not my style to spit the dummy
if you like, I just felt it wasn’t going to
be a good environment for anyone, so
I was like ‘let me just go back and be
in my own space’. I spoke to Christian
[Horner] the Monday after the race,
he called me, and again he was
obviously apologetic. We obviously
took a few days to overcome it,
but I wasn’t calling him names
or anything.
3
I knew everyone
was heartbroken
– it was just a
shitty situation.
Your season turned around
when you had a fantastic run
from Hungary onwards.
4
Was not winning Monaco the
biggest disappointment of
your career?
Yes and no, because I guess that’s the
one race you want to win, if there is
one. It came from a massive high on
the Saturday, to the low. So I would
say yes.
But then I’d look back and say no –
because without the pitstop, it was the
perfect weekend. We dominated FP2,
qualifying, and then the race.
3. T
he Monaco GP was
a massive missed
opportunity for
Ricciardo.
XPB Images
4. H
e made up for it, kinda,
with an out-of-theblue win in Malaysia.
XPB Images
5. .The intra-team battle
between Ricciardo
and Verstappen has
been tense but fair.
XPB Images
24 | GP G A ZE TTE
It very easily was
the best weekend
of my career, but
also the worst!
We very rarely see you unhappy…
Yeah, the disappointment, that was
sky high.
Was it difficult with the team
after the race?
Basically the only person I saw after
the race was Helmut [Marko]. He was
sort of waiting in my room, just to I
guess apologise.
That was fun. It started again in
Budapest. It was a big relief, because
until then my only podium all
year was Monaco, and it was a not
enjoyable podium for me.
China should have been a podium
without the puncture, and then
Barcelona. But Budapest was the first
podium of the year where I could
really enjoy it. And Seb was right on
me the last two laps, so crossing the
line was a bit of a relief.
Hockenheim, to have the speed
there was cool. Those two before the
summer break put me in a good place
heading into the break, and I felt like
I had a better summer break because
of those two.
Mercedes drivers would be
in trouble.
It happened quite nicely I guess. It’s
funny, because we thought Singapore
would be the one, and we got close.
So then I was like, ‘which other one
is it going to come from?’ I thought
maybe it would rain somewhere.
Malaysia was interesting. I saw
Turn 1, and thought, ‘I’m in second,
this is great’. So immediately my
target was I want to finish second
today, because Lewis would
probably disappear.
Max was coming, I held him off,
and I was like, ‘let’s keep holding
him off, let’s just fight through these
tyres’. Then my engineer said,
‘yellow at Turn 1, Lewis is stopped’.
It did take probably three seconds
to process, and then I was, ‘that
means I’m in the lead’. And then it
was, ‘we’re not losing today!’
I don’t know if I believe in fate
or destiny, but probably a little bit
I guess. ‘This is my chance at last,
I don’t want to let this slip.’
You mentioned Max . That race
was a classic example of you
fighting for position, and what
eventually became a win.
A lot of people are talking
about your rivalry, but then
equally you’ve been up against
Sebastian Vettel...
I feel like I’ve had both ends of the
spectrum. When I came into Red Bull
it was a four-time champ. He was the
number one guy in the sport at the
time, and now I’ve got Max, who is
the number one up-and-coming guy
in the sport, sort of thing.
It’s been cool. I obviously love the
challenges. I think in Malaysia we
handled it really well.
If we are in a
position to next
year fight for
the title, I think
naturally the
intensity around
everything
will rise.
I’ve sort of said if we can be
honest and respectful about it, then it
shouldn’t escalate. Sure, the pressure
and intensity will rise, but if we can
still race hard but fair, and not drive
each other off the track…
He’s been pretty good this year,
when I’ve got podiums he’s said
congrats, and in Malaysia, I said good
drive to him. If we can just be honest
and just say he did the better job
today – it’s not always easy, but that
should keep it at a good level.
5
How much difference did
it make?
It’s one of those things, confidence
builds not only within yourself, but
also the team around you. Even your
engineers, you can tell when they’re
feeling good, and there’s a bit more
chat on the radio during the race.
And the mechanics.
Everyone loves a good result, and
it felt like we started getting a few.
It’s not like you’re trying harder,
things just flow, and it’s that air of
confidence - ‘we’ve had a good run’.
How special was Malaysia?
You probably thought that you
wouldn’t win a race this year,
as it seemed unlikely that both
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