Last Sunday evening, every Australian racing fan sat down in their chair in front of the TV with their head slowly sinking into their hands, absolutely dejected at life and how it had all seemed to collapse down on itself.
OK, maybe not that far, but everyone was pretty upset.
A concocted fuel of confusion, anger, disbelief and most of all, frustration, hit viewers as Daniel Ricciardo’s car sat in the pit box, waiting, waiting… and waiting, as his chance at a famed Monaco victory slipped away.
How many times can this happen to poor Ricciardo? How many stuff-ups, botches and blunders can the man go through before he can begin to get results?
Yes, there is bad luck in Formula One, it’s a fast-paced, high-risk sport and these things happen. They just tend to happen frequently at Red Bull – especially to Aussies at Red Bull.
Prior to that pit stop at the Circuit de Monaco, Ricciardo fell under the bus just two weeks earlier in Barcelona, once again, at the hands of his Red Bull team.
An early lead courtesy of some Mercedes friendly fire was thrown out the window, onto the highway, then run over by a convoy of semi-trailers.
It would be his record-breaking teammate, Max Verstappen, sitting atop the podium at the end of the Spanish Grand Prix, despite the Australian holding all the advantages.
Couple that with some questionable tyre selections at Sochi, costing the Perth native a top ten finish, and that word frustrating sneaks back out, just six races into the calendar.
The curse that Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has placed on Ricciardo wasn’t the first of its kind, though.
Before there was smiling Dan, Formula One fans from the land down under had a similar champion to cheer for – Mark Webber.
The former Canberra Raiders ball boy was a real workhorse of the paddock in his early career, grinding away for five years in the middle of the pack before being thrown a championship opportunity, a one-way ticket to Infiniti Red Bull racing.
This is where Webber would be hit by Red Bull’s seemingly unwavering hatred of Australians. Don’t mind the slight over exaggeration, but I digress.
Webber would be hampered for the majority of his seven-year tenure, falling victim to poor (and downright embarrassing) pit strategies, harrowing team orders, secondary car upgrades, as well as some fairly blatant internal warfare with that pesky Sebastian Vettel.
The chance to join Australian racing immortals, Jack Brabham and Alan Jones, as a Formula One world champion went begging year after year, through little fault of his own.
Instead, all he was able to take home was frustration.
There is light at the end of the tunnel for Ricciardo, however. As Webber showed, you can produce the goods no matter the situation.
How could anyone forget the infamous, “Not bad for a number two driver” burn.
Webber heroically drove to victory at the British Grand Prix in 2010, less than one week after his younger, less experienced teammate Vettel was given priority on a new front wing, leaving him reeling behind the German on the grid, and with a lesser vehicle.
Leaving nothing for his team than the aforementioned killer quote after the win, it was one of very few moments to savour in a period that ripped the once passionate Formula One heart out of Webber before he retired.
With rumours circling the Formula One paddock about a possible move to Ferrari next year, maybe Ricciardo’s best bet at a championship is away from the Red Bull team, the author of his pain, and the frustration.
Looking for great odds on racing and sport? Get into the action with PlayUp today. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
Red Bull and Max Verstappen vaulted right back to the top of the charts with a win in Suzuka, after his DNF in Melbourne.
Japan Grand Prix has been the most entertaining of the season to date, but Max Verstappen was back to his winning ways.
This season is only four races old, but Fernando Alonso needs to decide on his future beyond this year sooner rather than later. Formula…
It’s a pretty good time to be a Tasmanian sports fan right now. After years in the sporting wilderness with not much to celebrate,…
The question remains where the Australian Grand Prix winner will be in 2025 and whether it’ll be somewhere his value can truly be appreciated.
The author of a new book on Aussie F1 prodigy Oscar Piastri believes the Melbourne driver has what it takes to become Australia’s first…
