- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 355,013
- Reaction score
- 38
You must be registered for see images attach
As he isolates in remote bushland near Perth, Daniel Ricciardo can dare to believe that a lifelong dream is his to seize. Ever since serving notice of his audacious talent as a Toro Rosso rookie, the Australian has carried himself like a Ferrari driver-in-waiting. He combines dazzling overtaking instincts with easy, wisecracking charm, not to mention some precious Italian ancestry through his father, Joe. The fact that his long-coveted move could come at the expense of Sebastian Vettel, the man he outclassed by three victories to zero at Red Bull in 2014, merely enriches the allure. The discussions between Ricciardo and his agent promise to be intense. In August 2018, a mixture of frustration and sheer impatience persuaded him to make one of the strangest switches of recent times, abandoning his Red Bull seat for a season of grim mediocrity at Renault. Granted, a salary estimated at £18 million was a significant sweetener. But the flaws of his car, which last year he could guide to no better a finish than fourth, were impossible to ignore. It was an inexplicable downgrading for perhaps the most marketable driver on the grid. Today, Ricciardo has a priceless chance to prove that his time on the margins was not in vain. His enthusiasm to wear the Ferrari overalls is hardly in doubt, given his frequent suggestions that it would be an offer he could not refuse. Asked at pre-season testing this year about taking over from Vettel, he deflected in his usual jocular style. “Sebastian is a nice guy,” he grinned. “And he was born two days after me but two years earlier. Das ist super, ja?”
Continue reading...
