Few people expected young Aussie Daniel Ricciardo to get anywhere near new teammate Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull Racing this season.
With Vettel coming off four consecutive championships, having comprehensively dominated former teammate Mark Webber, what chance did Ricciardo have of getting on top of the established Red Bull racer?
Ricciardo showed enough at Red Bull second team Toro Rosso to gain promotion and replace Webber in 2014, though he didn’t comprehensively get the better of teammate Jean-Eric Vergne last season. So what hope did he have against Vettel, given the clear favouritism to the reigning champ?
But Ricciardo has starred so far this season, matching Vettel on outright speed and outracing him in the main over the first three races of the year. The Aussie has been the clear best of the rest, behind the dominant Mercedes team of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, and bar bad luck would already have a solid bank of points and podiums.
Red Bull’s early season struggle to get up to speed with Mercedes under the new engine regulations has, in fact, been a blessing in disguise for Ricciardo. Had Red Bull continued its dominant form from last season, Vettel would more than likely have continued to be the driver to beat at the front of the field. Ricciardo would have been under immediate pressure to get up to speed at his new team.
But with the team slightly behind the leading contenders, Ricciardo has been able to take advantage of an unsettled Vettel and establish himself; vital in a team that has so obviously favoured the German.
The clearest sign of that respect was in the Bahrain Grand Prix, where the team instructed Vettel to let Ricciardo pass. Sure, they were on different strategies at an early point in the race. But it’s a sign of respect to the Aussie, something he needs to earn to avoid falling into the number two role Webber was resigned to in recent seasons.
“It was good fun, I had a couple of cracks at him… it is important [to establish myself],” said Ricciardo.
“Seb’s been dominant in F1 for the past four years, so it’s nice to come in and show that I can race at the front.
“Obviously, when you’ve got the car underneath you, it does feel good and gives you a lot of confidence to battle and move forward.”
As Red Bull improves and edges closer to Mercedes, Ricciardo needs to keep the pressure on Vettel. Staying on par with the German will secure Ricciardo’s long-term future in the sport, for he will be judged on his performances this season.
But so far he has exceeded expectations. He walked into one of the toughest gigs in motorsport and can hold his head high three races in.
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