Ricciardo recovers for podium after poor start

2014 United States Grand Prix lap times and fastest laps

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From fifth on the grid, Daniel Ricciardo was hopeful that a good start would give him a chance to challenge the Williams drivers for a place on the podium.

As it turned out he didn’t get away well – yet he made it onto the rostrum for the eighth time this year.

“The start wasn’t very good,” he admitted, “I have to put my hand up to that one”. But at the restart he successfully attacked and passed Alonso for fifth, and then used the Red Bull’s strong pace and good tyre preservation to put pressure on the Williams drivers.

Overcoming their high straight-line speed was always going to be difficult, but Ricciardo used a tactic which has served him well this year. An early first pit stop meant he was the first to gain the benefit of fresh tyres, and with Valtteri Bottas having to wait until after his team mate had pitted to respond, Ricciardo was up to fourth.

Ricciardo jumped the other Williams at his second pit stop, this time thanks to Felipe Massa losing over a second in the pit lane.

Ricciardo praised his pit crew after the race. “The pit stops were really good,” he said. “Red Bull is known for being awesome in the pits and they showed it today.”

United States Grand Prix lap times

All the lap times by the drivers (in seconds, very slow laps excluded):

https://www.racefans.net/charts/2014drivercolours.csv

1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041424344454647484950515253545556
Nico Rosberg107.097166.094152.448153.664104.162104.09104.049103.27103.452103.655104.308104.211104.406104.138104.075124.69104.807104.559104.678104.373104.384103.905104.156105.711104.22104.59104.459104.402104.617104.403104.392104.465103.913103.673123.74102.381102.718102.823102.473102.443102.301102.519102.755102.759102.766102.371102.33101.932102.462102.591102.695103.528102.425102.567103.258105.746
Lewis Hamilton108166.25152.906152.833104.215104.508103.589103.458103.567103.72104.123104.259104.674104.963104.703105.28124104.634103.988104.011103.996103.622104.178104.009103.735104.699104.236104.409104.48103.931104.11104.117103.931122.631103.816103.35102.618103.072102.603102.351102.127102.755102.776102.702102.831102.875102.254101.941101.929102.724102.616102.581102.844102.714104.049103.492
Valtteri Bottas110.458165.943152.412152.603105.687104.921104.111104.045103.926104.352105.194105.152105.144105.542105.296124.669104.611104.93105.165105.178104.982104.267104.433104.569104.422104.044104.024104.42104.47104.517123.508103.634104.282104.238103.968103.755104.106103.998104.044104.097103.76103.55103.661103.477103.387103.039102.925102.593103.057102.793103.006103.132103.731103.842102.505104.202
Felipe Massa109.601166.009152.65152.95105.135104.9104.167103.775104.064103.944105.003105.149105.019105.787124.682104.901103.96104.269104.281104.574104.301103.946104.277104.21104.015104.054103.978104.254104.127104.058104.365105.079124.549103.495103.521103.34103.92103.939103.671103.476103.556103.576103.924103.947103.676103.4103.455103.026102.996102.971103.23103.437103.342103.385103.915104.478
Daniel Ricciardo112.988165.712152.04151.433105.664105.358104.369104.341104.182104.287104.708104.644104.922105.467124.034104.698104.262104.513104.553104.664104.54103.819104.349104.255104.289104.395103.82104.173104.083103.873104.194123.048102.831103.282103.412103.605103.642103.544103.328103.38103.486103.543103.689103.843103.624103.9103.606103.308103.348103.276103.411103.275103.317103.478103.454105.086
Fernando Alonso112.054165.454151.877152.54107.628106.232105.452105.125105.252104.943105.522105.247105.248105.823105.849106.222125.526105.752105.68106.037106.919106.177106.45105.617105.608106.096105.259105.325104.891105.318104.519105.307104.43104.292104.75104.929105.137104.754105.112104.893104.722105.17105.709125.993103.694104.961101.474102.971105.038106.138101.69106.042107.861104.721110.704103.882
Kevin Magnussen110.641174.585153.074146.467108.745107.603106.636106.269106.669106.519106.459106.252106.506106.266106.412106.565106.286106.331106.432106.406106.659105.859106.023106.292107.063107.022108.328125.045104.287104.471104.935105.148104.407104.455104.804104.716105.451105.009104.817104.796104.903105.508104.56106.332105.089105.34105.251104.97104.672104.787104.919105.053105.072105.77106.454106.077
Kimi Raikkonen114.233165.474152.355150.683107.494106.526106.041105.646105.303105.041105.557105.831105.691105.755105.475106.288106.802125.797106.36106.231105.831105.837106.192107.814106.072107.096106.814106.467105.788105.434105.428105.512104.991105.347105.306105.028105.362105.025105.053105.367105.382105.936123.835103.787103.724103.447103.687105.621104.968106.161105.569107.187124.047102.888104.013
Adrian Sutil
Pastor Maldonado116.791163.834152.582150.01108.122106.865106.039105.692105.67105.366105.635105.496105.75105.801106.114131.75105.816105.836105.921106.214105.316105.134105.528105.308105.336105.913105.034107.125104.909104.684106.259105.355104.95105.341105.245125.117103.843103.808104.079104.479105.051105.568104.965104.876104.767104.829104.597105.155105.02105.117104.369105.462104.442104.483105.161105.726
Sergio Perez146.788
Jenson Button116.822173.017150.563145.258108.352107.829106.831106.24106.888106.239106.557106.293106.574106.416106.282106.485106.264106.676106.376106.838107.126106.144106.554107.476106.3106.859107.818108.736123.911104.948104.79104.733104.255104.607104.992104.596104.842104.57104.498104.657105.424104.726104.82105.33105.54105.128104.927104.908105.272104.889105.01106.161107.173107.748108.842
Nico Hulkenberg116.291173.995151.249144.665109.172108.108106.508106.284106.504106.502107.108106.473106.508106.483106.226106.332
Jean-Eric Vergne117.125164.963152.534148.893108.371107.031106.142105.649106.268105.806105.275105.706105.526105.474105.833130.027104.18105.152106.572105.285105.489105.161105.245105.523105.907105.976106.484106.562106.078125.407104.754104.511104.244104.665105.201105.133105.352104.927104.457104.578105.285105.433104.913104.654104.923104.845104.693105.119104.912105.054104.586104.677104.39104.514105.868107.316
Esteban Gutierrez118.311168.064153.068146.065109.346110.182107.991107.387107.323106.798106.786106.748106.621106.926106.563106.73106.919107.231108.925107.569133.392105.945105.934105.671105.317105.427105.414105.632105.554105.657105.78105.306105.2105.522105.258105.223106.417105.773105.574106.646125.44103.832103.98103.642103.783103.451103.006103.32103.1103.779104.186104.561104.038103.688105.671
Romain Grosjean119.74163.141152.934148.053108.373107.042106.235105.797106.344105.827105.517105.435105.582105.59105.652106.097125.825106.253106.495105.196105.337105.191105.268104.961106.639105.295105.554105.239105.27124.595104.822104.955104.464104.885105.611104.844104.882105.267104.846105.34105.759107.294104.818104.768104.994104.762104.879104.963105.191107.093104.44105.488106.735107.142107.244
Daniil Kvyat120.886163.477152.936147.109108.706107.491106.43106.319106.508106.343106.166106.211106.134106.36106.457106.342106.058106.657106.298106.515106.71126.697104.771105.376104.807105.722105.477105.57105.272105.086105.131105.309105.075105.143105.363105.234105.633105.201105.201105.474106.012123.615103.782103.295103.407103.596103.594103.92104.7108.083114.953125.947101.689103.491104.313
Sebastian Vettel121.209168.033152.881144.531109.25108.788106.786106.614106.655106.543107.018106.437106.631106.62106.088106.239107.12106.238106.388106.485106.249106.245106.154106.251106.765109.365123.843104.38104.424105.138104.895104.845104.83104.527103.895104.147104.27105.132104.608104.857104.976103.921104.292105.688105.62104.877104.944105.399122.086101.379102.323102.397103.584102.976102.119102.564

United States Grand Prix fastest laps

Each driver’s fastest lap:

RankDriverCarFastest lapGapOn lap
1Sebastian VettelRed Bull-Renault1’41.37950
2Fernando AlonsoFerrari1’41.4740.09547
3Daniil KvyatToro Rosso-Renault1’41.6890.31053
4Lewis HamiltonMercedes1’41.9290.55049
5Nico RosbergMercedes1’41.9320.55348
6Valtteri BottasWilliams-Mercedes1’42.5051.12655
7Daniel RicciardoRed Bull-Renault1’42.8311.45233
8Kimi RaikkonenFerrari1’42.8881.50954
9Felipe MassaWilliams-Mercedes1’42.9711.59250
10Esteban GutierrezSauber-Ferrari1’43.0061.62747
11Pastor MaldonadoLotus-Renault1’43.8082.42938
12Jean-Eric VergneToro Rosso-Renault1’44.1802.80117
13Jenson ButtonMcLaren-Mercedes1’44.2552.87633
14Kevin MagnussenMcLaren-Mercedes1’44.2872.90829
15Romain GrosjeanLotus-Renault1’44.4403.06151
16Nico HulkenbergForce India-Mercedes1’46.2264.84715
17Sergio PerezForce India-Mercedes2’26.78845.4091
18Adrian SutilSauber-Ferrari

2014 United States Grand Prix

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Image © Red Bull/Getty

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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19 comments on “Ricciardo recovers for podium after poor start”

  1. That was almost an average drive by Ricciardo’s standards, which is still exceptional for the majority of the grid.

    Alonso v2.0

    1. I can see Ferrari wanting him one day, particularly with his Italian background. I’m fairly certain that if Ricciardo won the championship the Italian press would adopt him as the first “Italian” champion since Ascari.

    2. @kingshark When he can start like Alonso, then he’s v2.0. Although, if he had kept his position at the start, we wouldn’t have seen some of the best passes of the race.

      1. For starting he is Webber v2.0

    3. @kingshark – I wouldn’t say it was average, he still beat a pair of probably faster FW36s and Daniel’s performances in Sochi and Singapore better fit my definition of Ricciardo-spec averageness, but the spectacular nature of his drive was certainly artificially constructed by a poor start. And why is he not Hamilton v2.0? As Lewis did in 2007 he is ruining the stock value of his more illustrious teammate, and like Lewis, has the most remarkable way with the brake pedal. I still don’t understand how he managed to make the apex without locking a wheel as he swooped on Magnussen on the first lap. He also exudes Hamilton-esque ease and confidence, with particular reference to 2007 again. This kid has one huge future ahead of him.

  2. SebV likes racking up those statistics, another fastest lap, just goes to show why points for fastest lap are not justified.

    1. you mean in series that do have that rule @hohum? I may have totally misunderstood your comment, but it seems like you’re saying F1 has it

      1. Negative, just saying F1 definitely does not need to adopt it. @zjacobs.

    2. Yeah… I don’t think Vettel liking statistics has anything to do with his fastest lap. More like him being on new softs with 7 places left to recover in 7 laps and thus having to drive the wheels off that car.

      1. If we used reality we couldn’t bash VET for making a FLAP just to increase his stats

  3. I really wish we can see more of RIC passing on the track as he did with ALO instead of seeing positions gained in the pits as he did with the 2 Williams, and I wish the same all through the field.

  4. “He was demoted by Kevin Magnussen and Fernando alonso, but an early pit stop for the McLaren driver handed one place back to Ricciardo”

    Ricciardo passed Magnussen on track, prior to the Dane pitting.

  5. Great driver, but today it was due to Williams’s unbelievable incompetence.
    When they called Bottas to the 2nd pit stop they handled Ricciardo 3rd place on a silver platter. And to make things worse Massa’s last pit was too long.

    They could’ve achieved better results like a 2nd on Austria and this today. May be that Smedley guy’s fault, as he is responsible for all strategies for the team.

    1. Mr win or lose
      3rd November 2014, 9:27

      True. Williams allowed Ricciardo to undercut one of their drivers twice. They should have finished 3rd and 4th or 3rd and 5th, not 4th and 5th.

    2. The weaknesses of Williams’ race strategy abilities has been the Achilles tendon for them in many races this season.

      Two significant things that I’ve not seen elsewhere about this battle for third in Austin are the significance of Williams running S, S, M tire strategy versus the S, M, M strategy of the podium finishers.

      In particular, note that Massa’s 2nd stint was 18 laps on (used) softs. No other driver ran as long a stint on softs (new or used) in this race.

      In contrast, Ricciardo’s 2nd stint was 17 laps on new mediums.

      This enabled a performance advantage for Ricciardo over Massa at the end of their 2nd stints.

      If we compare the last two laps at the end of each driver’s 2nd stint, we see that Ricciardo gained 1.5 secs on Massa:
      MAS – 1:44.365 – lap 31
      MAS – 1:45.079 – lap 32 ended in pit
      vs
      RIC – 1:43.873 – lap 30
      RIC – 1:44.194 – lap 31 ended in pit

      So RIC gained ~0.5 secs over MAS on the lap prior to the pit-in lap, (RIC lap 30 vs MAS lap 31). And RIC gained ~0.9 secs over MAS on their pit-in laps, (RIC lap 31 vs MAS lap 32).

      In addition, if we look at what Ricciardo did on his outlap, and we compare his outlap to those of Bottas and Massa, while removing the 1.2 secs for Massa’s longer pit-stop, we see that though all three were on new mediums, Ricciardo was ~0.5 secs faster than Bottas (not too relevant perhaps). When we remove the additional 1.2 secs for Massa’s longer pit-stop, Ricciardo was still ~0.3 secs faster than Massa on their out laps.

      In other words, Ricciardo was able to use his tires to gain a total of 1.7 secs in those three laps alone, (the lap prior to pit-in, the pit-in lap, and his pit-out lap). If we total Ricciardo’s on track gain of 1.7 secs with Williams performing 1.1 secs slower on Massa’s pit-stop (vs Ricciardo’s), then the total gain is 2.8 secs to pass for the position.

      A bad few laps for Massa and Williams… but it must be said, well executed by Ricciardo and Red Bull.

  6. Mr win or lose
    3rd November 2014, 9:36

    Why was Vettel so much faster after his first “regular” pitstop? In the first half of the race he was unable to do anything and in the second half he was flying. Given the car’s potential he should have finished at least 6th, but due to a crappy strategy (and a poor car setup?) he was nearly a lap behind.

  7. If they gave out a trophy for the best overtaking highlights package of the year I think Dan would take it home!!

  8. What was Alonso doing in his last stint? He did a couple of fast laps, but in the other laps he was incredibly slow, doing 1:46 and 1:47. In the penultimate lap he did a 1:50.
    That explains why Vettel was able to cut the gap from 25 seconds to half a second in seven laps.

  9. On the lap times chart leave only Hamilton and Rosberg. Then zoom in the fragment bw two pit stops. Finally answer the question (let’s imagine you didn’t watch the race): at which lap Hamilton overtook Rosberg? Still nothing strange?

Comments are closed.