Victory at the Singapore Grand Prix makes it two wins in a row for Lewis Hamilton and with that he has put himself atop the drivers’ championship standings. No wonder he has such a smug look on his face.
At least Lewis has stopped pulling his hair out over the frustration of mechanical failures. Or has he?
You can see all that and more with our gallery of images below, some of which do literally contain the bright lights of Singapore.
It’s always good to read the post-race press conference, you get a chance to see the thoughts of the drivers without any spin. The transcript from the Singapore Grand Prix presser is available for you after the break.
Of course, there’s a lot of talk with race winner Lewis Hamilton, but it’s also interesting to hear Daniel Ricciardo discuss some issues he had during the race.
Lewis Hamilton has put himself back atop the drivers’ championship tree with a dominant win at the Singapore Grand Prix. It follows his victory in the last outing in Italy and is the 2008 world champion’s seventh win of the year.
Hamilton’s day started brilliantly when his teammate Nico Rosberg was wheeled off the grid before the parade lap with technical problems relating to his steering wheel and gear selection. Rosberg eventually started from pit lane but had a horrid race, unable to make any serious progress through the back markers, and retired after 13 laps with a faulty wiring loom. Hamilton’s maximum points haul in Singapore now gives him a 3 point lead in the championship with five races to go.
Fighting over the scraps in the wake of Lewis were the Red Bull pairing and Fernando Alonso. The order ended up with Sebastian Vettel in second, his best result for the year, followed by Daniel Ricciardo and Alonso. It’s the first time this season two Red Bull drivers have been on the podium.
Vettel enjoyed a brief moment in the sun leading the race with under 10 laps to go, but this only came about due to Hamilton’s tyre strategy and the fancied Briton was easily able to reclaim his lead on fresh rubber. Second was the best Vettel could hope for and despite losing the place to Alonso earlier in the race he was able to regain his position during the pit stop rounds under the customary safety car period, which came midway through the race to clean up debris on track after a kerfuffle between Adrian Sutil and Sergio Perez.
Ricciardo had to fight hard late following a long stint on increasingly fading tyres to save P3 from Alonso, but was able to prove his mettle again to add yet another trophy to his increasing stash.
Felipe Massa managed to avoid most everyone else to claim a seemingly untroubled P5 while the soon to be unemployed Jean-Eric Vergne reminded everyone he’s actually not that bad by employing an aggressive tyre strategy and rounding up a few drivers late in the race to charge to P6. This was despite incurring the wrath of the stewards for exceeding track limits.
The top 10 was rounded out by Perez, Kimi Raikkonen, Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen. Hulkenberg’s points for Force India were enough to demote the once mighty McLaren down to sixth in the constructors’ standings.
19:45 – Ricciardo pwns Raikkonen
26:00 – Ricciardo pwns Vettel
Oh yeah, there’s other awesome action to watch in this 30 minute clip from the 2014 Italian Grand Prix, too, thanks to Canal+ but we know you just want to see Daniel show those world chumps who’s boss!
[via WTF1 | Thanks to Tom for the tip]
Red Bull Racing has released a video celebrating Daniel Ricciardo’s maiden F1 victory, achieved at the Canadian Grand Prix. In effect it’s a stop animation clip, but the frames were captured so close together it’s almost one fluid motion. It’s very cool.
Join us as we take the jump, settle back to watch the video and enjoy reliving Daniel’s win, frame by frame.
Daniel Ricciardo has become the 21st recipient of the Lorenzo Bandini Trophy, awarded to the professional racing driver who most impressed the judging panel in the year prior, usually from the world of Formula 1. Daniel joins the likes of Michael Schumacher (2003), Fernando Alonso (2005), Mark Webber (2006), and Sebastian Vettel (2009) as previous winners.
The trophy is named after the Italian former F1 driver Lorenzo Bandini and was presented in the small village of Brisighella by members of the Bandini family and David Missiroli, the Brisighella town mayor. Brisighella is close to the Imola circuit and the Faenza factory of the Scuderia Toro Rosso team.
“I was quite overwhelmed with the reception I received at the event. The Italians really love their motorsport,” Daniel said. “To be awarded with the Lorenzo Bandini trophy was an honour and to join the many great drivers on that list makes me proud.”
The event was a pretty big deal, too, with a 270-strong dinner held in celebration attended by F1 identities such as Giancarlo Minardi and Aldo Costa, currently a designer with Mercedes AMG F1.
Let’s hope this isn’t the last F1-related trophy Daniel receives in his career.
[Source: Red Bull Racing]
We could get used to watching Daniel Ricciardo winning Formula 1 Grands Prix. What about you?
With his Belgian Grand Prix victory Daniel has made it two wins in a row, for a career total of three race wins. Mark Webber had nine wins and Sebastian Vettel a very handy 39 wins (one with Toro Rosso).
Those of you quick on your sums will have worked out Red Bull Racing now has 50 grands prix wins in total. Let’s hope Daniel keeps on closing the gap to Sebastian, even if it is a massive mountain to climb.
Oh yeah, there’s a stack of pics for you after the break, too!
It’s always great waking up the morning after an Aussie has won a Formula 1 race. One of the pleasures that comes with Daniel Ricciardo’s win at the Belgian Grand Prix is reading the thoughts he gave to the media after the race.
Remarkably, Daniel Ricciardo’s three wins so far this season is only one behind Nico Rosberg’s four victories. And while we do hear a lot from Daniel, of course, the press focused on the contact between Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton. That contact not only ruined Hamilton’s race but gave Daniel a small opportunity to win and, thankfully, he was able to rise to the challenge.
[Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]
Daniel Ricciardo has enhanced his already soaring reputation after he won a dramatic Belgian Grand Prix. It’s Daniel’s third Formula 1 race victory and the first win by an Australian at the admired Spa circuit since Sir Jack Brabham won on the old 14km layout in 1960.
Mercedes was expected to dominate the race but a clumsy move by polesitter Nico Rosberg on Lewis Hamilton, who made a lightning start from P2 to claim the lead, threw the race result wide open. Rosberg clipped Hamilton’s left rear tyre leaving the Briton with a puncture and pouting bottom lip. Rosberg, too, lost momentum when his front wing had to be replaced and opened the door for Ricciardo who was good enough to capitalise on the glimmer of hope that came his way.
Hamilton’s undertray was damaged when he limped back to the pits and proceeded to whinge his way through the grand prix until he finally got his way and the team brought him in to retire with a handful of laps remaining.
Rosberg was able to work his way back to P2, finishing just a few seconds behind Ricciardo, but he wasn’t missed by a loud contingent of race fans who booed him during the post-race podium celebrations. A harsh reaction perhaps, although his own team has Rosberg in its sights. The contact with Hamilton was clearly Rosberg’s, fault but it was much closer to being a racing incident than any deliberate sabotage. Still, the end result saw Rosberg extend his championship lead by 18 points.
Valtteri Bottas drove a relatively quiet race to claim the final podium step, a position he’s made his own in recent times. Kimi Raikkonen showed outstanding pace at times on a track where he was won four times previously and finished P4.
The closing race scrap for positions P5–P8 was breathtaking, with four drivers mixing it wheel-to-wheel and regularly swapping positions. In the end the results fell to Sebastian Vettel, Kevin Magnussen, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso.
Sergio Perez and Daniil Kvyat rounded out the top 10, not that either were able to attract much camera time. While Andre Lotterer’s F1 debut lasted just one lap.
Ricciardo’s win has cemented his third place position in the drivers’ championship, he’s now only 36 points behind Hamilton, who is 29 points behind Rosberg.
[Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]
UPDATE: Kevin Magnussen was handed a 20 second post-race penalty from the stewards after forcing Fernando Alonso off track. That pushes Magnussen fro P6 down to P12.
Here’s a Formula 1 story we can all enjoy, the ever increasing love being shown for Daniel Ricciardo! Here’s a selection of quotes said about our Dan in the wake of his Hungarian Grand Prix win.
Luke Smith, NBC: When speaking to Daniel in the paddock, it’s quite clear that he is two things. Firstly: highly determined and gunning to win (as is any racing driver). Secondly: a genuinely friendly person. It’s very rare to leave a press briefing with Daniel without a smile nearly as big as his own.
This is all very good news for Formula 1. Bernie Ecclestone has said in the past that the sport needs a superstar, and Daniel could be exactly that, but not in the conventional sense. He is someone who the fans can connect to.
Kevin Eason, The Times: No one—not even Horner and his Red Bull team—believed the Australian would be so good. Actually, he has not been good, he has been spectacular. This is a champ in the making.
Sky Sports F1: In a season of such dominance by one team which isn’t your own, Ricciardo’s pair of victories in Canada and especially Hungary are all the more commendable and the qualities shown on both of those occasions as he charged to unexpected wins—consistent pace, impressive tyre management and, most notably of all, bold and incisive overtaking moves when it mattered—have made the paddock sit up and take notice and mark the ever-smiley 25-year-old out as surely a future World Champion in the making. The surprise star of the season without question.
Jim Peltz, LA Times: Two months ago the idea would have been laughable: Red Bull Racing’s rookie Daniel Ricciardo winning the Formula One championship. Now, the notion still remains highly unlikely but not nearly so ludicrous. Overtaking both Mercedes drivers would be a very tall order. But there are eight races left in the season. And there’s a season-ending quirk this year. Formula One will award double points to drivers in the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
And if Ricciardo closes the gap significantly by then, Abu Dhabi could prove highly entertaining.
Edd Straw, Autosport+: Half a season in a top car and a couple of victories does not automatically mean a driver has earned his place among the elite, but Ricciardo has been so convincing that it’s difficult to imagine he won’t consolidate his status over the seasons to come. At 25, he looks like he will be a real force to be reckoned with for the next decade.
Let’s hope we do see Daniel continue on his upwards trajectory and one day claiming a world championship. It’s great for Aussie F1 fans to see him take the mantle as Australia’s unofficial ambassador from Mark Webber with such good humour and, of course, blinding pace.
[Source: Fox Sports | Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]
Imagine for a moment that Formula 1 has embraced the 21st century and makes onboard footage available for free online after each race. Well, you don’t have to imagine any more because thanks to French TV network Canal+ those days are almost here.
After the break you’ll get to see 30 minutes of highlights from the Hungarian Grand Prix. There’s no commentary, no ad breaks, just non-stop onboard footage, including Daniel’s march to victory. It’s totally awesome!
[Source: Canal+ | Thanks to Tom for the tip]
If you’re still enjoying in the afterglow of Daniel Ricciardo’s win at the Hungarian Grand Prix then you probably won’t mind listening to Peter Windsor wax lyrical about the race. You can do that after the break, which includes a repeat of Windsor’s prediction that Daniel would/could win in Budapest.