F1 End of Season Report: Rate the Grid - Daniel Ricciardo

[Paul Jeffrey]

That ever present smile seemed to falter occasionally in 2017, however the year just gone was still a solid one for Daniel Ricciardo. Where does the Australian rate in out end of season rankings?

Nine podiums including victory in Azerbaijan sounds like a decent haul for the 28-year-old Red Bull driver, however 2017 will forever go down as another case of missed opportunity as yet again the once dominant Milton Keynes outfit failed to sustain a constant title challenge in 2017. On a personal note Ricciardo was once again fast pretty much everywhere and continued to establish himself as one of the finest overtakers in Formula One, however a distant fifth position overall in the drivers standings will do little to improve his mood during the winter break.

Of little consolidation to Ricciardo will be his very impressive performances against highly regarded teammate Verstappen, beating the young Dutchman by 32 points but still remaining a disappointing 105 behind the lowest placed Mercedes of Finn Valtteri Bottas, a gap Red Bull must bridge in 2018 if they hope to retain their talented driving strength into the future.

Vote now to tell us how you rate 2017 Formula One season of Max Verstappen, and leave a comment below!

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[Nevini]

Danial is Mr Personality, F1 needs more people like this guy. Unfortunately his team mate is going to be world champion at some point, Danial will make a good number 2.

 

[Fineraft]

Danial is Mr Personality, F1 needs more people like this guy. Unfortunately his team mate is going to be world champion at some point, Danial will make a good number 2.

I totally agree with you. What I've read in the article however triggers me for a bit. He beat his teammate let it be that this would certainly be different if Max didn't have to park his car with mechanical failures. If we look to how Dan got his podium finishes, it was most of the times, I dare to say all the times, because Verstappen had problems with the engine. Recap: If Max didn't had issues, he would have won 3 times, and several 3rd places, demolishing Dan. You can't say Dan beat his teammate, because Max pretty much beat Dan if we look to Victories and his overall standing before he had to call the ANWB (Dutch equivalent of the AA, ADAC ÖAMTC, etc..)

 

[Jan Larsen]

8. Very good driver who most of the time is a match to his teammate, but he really needs to bring out the very best in him if he wants to stay equal to Verstappen, or world class to beat him. And I struggle a little to see that happen. He demolished Vettel when he was at Redbull, so we know he has what it takes to take on world class drivers, but beating Verstappen can be an even bigger mouthful than Vettel was. He beat Verstappen this year points wise, but as most of us know, that dosent show the full story.
He's in for his hardest battle next year so far in his career. Beat Verstappen and Mercedes will be in reach for 2019. Lose and Verstappen will snatch the seat instead. You see, I dont see Bottas keeping that seat...

 

[WOKOWEN1]

Danial is Mr Personality, F1 needs more people like this guy. Unfortunately his team mate is going to be world champion at some point, Danial will make a good number 2.

He will never be a number 2 simply because he is the best driver of the entire grid. Face it.

 

[oorjit07]

He drove very well, but keeps getting this season invalidated due Verstappen'd failures. Well, people weren't paying attention when Ricciardo had 5 DNFs, one less than Max, in the time when the car was at it's best. I don't know if he'll (or even Max) will win a title, but for now he seems a better driver than Max.

 

[WOKOWEN1]

I totally agree with you. What I've read in the article however triggers me for a bit. He beat his teammate let it be that this would certainly be different if Max didn't have to park his car with mechanical failures. If we look to how Dan got his podium finishes, it was most of the times, I dare to say all the times, because Verstappen had problems with the engine. Recap: If Max didn't had issues, he would have won 3 times, and several 3rd places, demolishing Dan. You can't say Dan beat his teammate, because Max pretty much beat Dan if we look to Victories and his overall standing before he had to call the ANWB (Dutch equivalent of the AA, ADAC ÖAMTC, etc..)

You are totally wrong mate. Daniel didn't get more points precisely because Redbull is the stupidest team ever seen in formula1 and gave the engine upgrade to the noob who thinks he is racing on PlayStation and gets away with cutting and pushing teammates out of the track.

 

[WOKOWEN1]

8. Very good driver who most of the time is a match to his teammate, but he really needs to bring out the very best in him if he wants to stay equal to Verstappen, or world class to beat him. And I struggle a little to see that happen. He demolished Vettel when he was at Redbull, so we know he has what it takes to take on world class drivers, but beating Verstappen can be an even bigger mouthful than Vettel was. He beat Verstappen this year points wise, but as most of us know, that dosent show the full story.
He's in for his hardest battle next year so far in his career. Beat Verstappen and Mercedes will be in reach for 2019. Lose and Verstappen will snatch the seat instead. You see, I dont see Bottas keeping that seat...

He doesn't need to fight Max...he needs to fight all the grid + his own team Redbull with their stupid moves that have cost him so much so far.

 

[Maurits Vernel]

Great driver and by far the best teammate for Max.

Oftentimes he just seems content with what he is doing and while he overtakes very well, he does at times seem to lack the aggression his teammate has. In China and the last six races of the season he was far behind Max. Max was quicker this year, and he will have to step up next season to keep up with Verstappen.

8.

 

[Nick Gregory]

Suddenly, this is a Verstappen thread.

Daniel however had a pretty good year. I think there may have been some capitalization on Max's constant retirements in the first half of the year, but I don't discount his ability as a driver.

He also gets an extra point for being Ricciardo.

 

[Esploratore]

I gave him an 8, also a very good driver, but not verstappen level, like I said before I see verstappen as a new schumacher and ricciardo as a new hakkinen.

He's good at overtaking, defending, qualifying, but not as good as verstappen, he's ofc a safer pair of hands for now and lacks verstappen's wet weather flair.

He's taking the right decision imo at waiting before signing with red bull again, I think verstappen took another risk here, if red bull proves not up to mercedes and ferrari standards again consistently for the whole year, with bottas an uncertainty and raikkonen about to retire he could miss a chance to get in a team that gives him a WDC contending car.

 

[Serge.M]

8. Needs to lift qualifying game a little. Overall a bit better then Max I think. He is more precise while Max more aggressive. Daniel will set up a clean pass while max will just throw it in and hope it sticks, a lot more risky/dangerous and hence ends up in more tangles. Max got all the retirements at the start and Daniel at the end so on points Daniel is ahead either way you look at it

 

[sjb266]

Dan and Max are the best two drivers for F1 period.. they are endlessly entertaining off and on track and have a fantastic chemistry.. Red Bull should be proud! I give him a 10!

 

[Enpassant]

Very good and one of the most talented driver on the grid, but have to much well-breedeness. He can still smile after each race but have no mercy to „kill” everyone who want to stand on his path. F1 need to be a companionship of courageous and a little bratty drivers. Of course he need more competitive car to win races more often than one in the season.
Many of my friends here, by the way talk about Max. I came to hold back without any comparisions. In my opinion Daniel deserves for that.

 

[Bjay_23]

I have the feeling he`s getting rated higher than other drivers only because hes a funny guy.
He deserves a 7, but not more. Max was most of the time better than him if he didnt had a failure.

 

[snyperal]

A solid 8 for me. Reliability cost him big time. He pulled off some beautiful overtakes but I can't help think that he's too nice. Hami, Seb or Max seem to really put their elbows out when defending or over taking something I've rarely seen Danny do. Maybe he's a little more calculating than the others?

Next season 4th would be a great result for him. If red bull can get competitive, which judging by the results at the end of the season they are on the way, he might do better.

 

[jpalesi]

You don't need to be an arrogant pr!ck to be fast and be a champion.

Craig Lowndes is called at times the smiling assassin (less so now he's towards the end of his career), Jimmie Johnson is known to be a nice guy who has pretty much no enemy in the paddock (which is quite something in NASCAR with all the crashing, paybacks and stuff). Both those examples have quite a few major championships between them.

Saying that a racer is too nice and make it sound negative is ignorant at best.

 

[Mr Latte]

9

For me one of the most enjoyable characters that isn't afraid to race hard with anyone.
Has proven himself to be a teammate that could challenge any of the top drivers throughout a season.

I see him a good fit at Mercedes and for their brand but only if Lewis gets another title this year.
I'm not sure Lewis would want to risk Mercedes replacing Bottas with Daniel. If by then he even stays.

 

[Sky]

One of the few top drivers that doesn't seem like an arsehole.

 

[Terry Rock]

The upcoming remaining drivers will be very difficult to score...not because of driver talent, but because of unreliability in the machinery.
On talent, Daniel is a solid 8.
On the season he gets a solid 6.5.
It had to be a very frustrating years for him due to a very fragile engine.