Daniel Ricciardo said he took just as much satisfaction from his second career win at the Hungaroring as he did his breakthrough victory in Canada earlier this year.
The Red Bull driver took advantage of an early Safety Car deployment to hit the front but still had to pass Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton in the final laps to seal his second win.
“It feels as good as the first, it really does,” said Ricciardo afterwards. “The Safety Car at the beginning played to our advantage, and then I thought when the second one came out it didn’t really help us.”
“But we managed to pull it off at the end and had to pass our way through, and that was a lot of fun, last few laps.”
As in Canada there were just two laps to go when Ricciardo made the decisive move for victory – this time by passing Alonso.
“I knew we had to make a move quick,” he said. “The DRS was there and I knew it could have been my only chance so I took it and it paid off – it had to be done.”
Ricciardo, who joined Red Bull from Toro Rosso this year, paid tribute to his team for the confidence they had in him.
“They really let me settle in so well the first six months of the year and to grab two victories is honestly phenomenal,” he said. “Really pleased, got a few mates here as well this weekend so we’ll party hard tonight.”
2014 Hungarian Grand Prix
- Alonso wins close Hungary Driver of the Weekend vote
- Hungarian Grand Prix gets its highest-ever rating
- 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix team radio transcript
- 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix fans’ video gallery
- 2014 Hungarian GP Predictions Championship results
Image © Red Bull/Getty
Kingshark (@kingshark)
27th July 2014, 15:56
What an absolute beast Danny Ric is. Vettel should be afraid.
Ricardo Ferreira (@yes-master)
28th July 2014, 15:07
@kingshark, why?! Ric is only starting is path to became a F1 champion. Hold your black horse :)
Seriously, I don’t think Vettel should be afraid, but in a certain way, proud and thankful. To have a young talent as a partner, is the perfect opportunity for Vettel to adapt himself to this new F1, to fight back for the spot again, as Ric is very competitive, but probably most important, to prove that he can have a good professional relationship with his partner, as Ric is so easy to deal with, and in that way remove Webber’s ghost from his head, once and for all.
trublu (@trublu)
27th July 2014, 15:58
Good on you, Daniel. Good on you!
greg-c (@greg-c)
27th July 2014, 15:59
So pleased for Dan
Epic effort to get past Fred who has the widest red tractor ever , not only that but he beat 2 mercs ,
Now i know Nico will be spewing / frothing but bad luck with the safety car, he got dealt a hand like others that was tough but that doesnt mean that people have to move out the way . You want this title Nico ?
Then fight for it ,
derek
27th July 2014, 16:03
In terms of pure speed Ricciardo is like young Alonso or Hamilton, except without all the drama, whining or primadonna behavior the other two bring to the table
OmarR-Pepper (@)
27th July 2014, 16:15
hahaha +1. Don’t forger the wise Twitts and the tatoos.
kpcart
27th July 2014, 16:07
Ricciardo is the driver of the year so far, in the machinery he has, he has done the best possible. He has made no mistakes, has beaten his teammate (4 wdc no less!), and has made great wheel to wheel passes on the said best drivers in F1. at the start of the season I would not have written this, I come from the same home town as Ricciardo, and always thought he was spoilt and got ahead in the motorsport world because of money, but this year he has proved to me he has the talent (I always knew he did, but was concerned that others didn’t get the opportunity he did), he has proved he can match and beat the best. Good luck to him! Rosberg and Hamilton need to take their chance this year, as other better drivers like Ricciardo are coming…
ttbalog (@ttbalog)
27th July 2014, 20:50
Even Vettel is in for a surprise when (hopefully) they have a better car next year. Ricciardo’s confidence has really grown. I’m happy for him. He just races, no complaints and has always got his energetic smile.
Neil (@neilosjames)
27th July 2014, 16:22
Bit lucky, but he made most of that luck himself. Awesome drive… and at the only circuit (bar Sochi) Vettel hasn’t won at too!
Calum (@calum)
27th July 2014, 16:41
Great stuff.
I thought he would continue to excel at qualifying when he moved to RedBull but his race craft has been excellent and the results beyond any expectations I had for him.
Jules Winfield (@jules-winfield)
27th July 2014, 17:07
Driver of the race, if not the year. He keeps getting better and better.
I actually applauded when he got past Hamilton.
Aaron
27th July 2014, 17:43
Dani has climbed back up to the most impressive driver of the year in my eyes. Bottas had overtaken him in the last couple of races but this drive was epic. You can’t argue with two wins in a year of utter merc dominance!
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
27th July 2014, 18:30
Well, you can to be fair, as they were both races with highly unsual circumstances – both Mercedes breaking down simultaneously in the first, and the safety car compromising Rosberg (who was well in the lead), with Hamilton starting last.
I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have won that race had it not been for the safety car playing into his hands.
Rhys Lloyd
28th July 2014, 5:45
You’re right – but Dan has capitalised on the luck. After that first safety car, Dan said to his engineer, “we can win this.” And he did.
He’s not silly, and he knows that these first two wins were luck to some degree – but he still had to pass TWO world champions to get there. One of them widely considered the best driver in F1.
Slowhands (@slowhands)
27th July 2014, 20:29
DOTW
Slowhands (@slowhands)
27th July 2014, 20:32
*DOTW should be shared between ALO and RIC. Both put in superb drives! And yes, I too could not help but cheer when Danny passed both HAM and ALO. And it is great to see a guy who shows the absolute joy of the sport so openly, like winning a race is fun in itself rather than just a stepping stone to a championship.
ttbalog (@ttbalog)
27th July 2014, 21:26
Enjoy your win, man. RIC is so much joy to watch.
Sun Siyuan (@peking901)
28th July 2014, 12:52
I like his smile! He is really good. And he didn’t whine everytime like a baby as Vet when things not go his way.