Ricciardo grabs third Driver of the Weekend win of 2016

2016 German Grand Prix Driver of the Weekend result

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Daniel Ricciardo was voted Driver of the Weekend for the third time this year after finishing second in the German Grand Prix.

He is the first driver to win Driver of the Weekend three times this year, having previously won the Chinese and Monaco polls.

Daniel Ricciardo’s German Grand Prix weekend

Ricciardo was within a tenth of a second of the Mercedes drivers in final practice but this gap appeared to flatter the Red Bull a little. Sure enough the silver cars pulled further ahead in qualifying, but Ricciardo nonetheless lined up ‘best of the rest’ ahead of his team mate.

He was surprised at the first corner, however, as Max Verstappen exploited the full width of the kerb to pass Ricciardo on the outside. The pair had already moved ahead of Nico Rosberg, who Ricciardo firmly kept behind on the first lap.

Ricciardo took advantage of a slow first pit stop for Rosberg to stay ahead of the Mercedes despite pitting one lap after it. He diverged on strategy from Rosberg and Verstappen at this point, and as the pair delayed each other with their scrap Ricciardo strengthened his hand.

He was aided by Verstappen following an instruction from the team not to hold Ricciardo up, though Riccairdo also superior pace on the softer tyres. The result was a second place which equalled his best result of the season so far. He celebrated in unorthodox fashion by drinking champagne from his racing boot.

Did the job in qualifying and the race, those series of laps on the super-soft tyres were mesmerising. Rosberg had to pit otherwise he was a sitting duck. To finish six seconds behind a Mercedes (engine turned down or not) is an achievement.

Also with Verstappen ‘outscoring’ Ricciardo since his arrival I think this was a much needed result on a Sunday. Oh and drinking out of his shoe deserves a notable mention as well.
Blazz

Good qualifying, good race – couldn’t have asked for more.
Adam (@Rocketpanda)

German Grand Prix winners and losers

Jenson Button may have only finished eighth but he grabbed the second-largest share of your votes:

Great driving on a great strategy, plenty of overtakes, and was better than his teammate. Plus he gained the most places this race, to earn valuable points that helped reduce the gap to Toro Rosso in the standings.
@Mostcool

Race winner Lewis Hamilton also earned praise from many of you:

Did a good (albeit not fantastic) job in qualifying, had a decent start and cruised to the end without any big mistake. Solid, but not brilliant.
@GuilhermeZahn

And while Carlos Sainz Jnr did not add to his points tally at the last race weekend, several of you nonetheless singled him out for praise:

Sainz has been impressing me weekend in weekend out. Again today he did so with the machinery he has at his disposal (remember, a year-old Ferrari engine) after out-qualifying his teammate by more than half a second.

He raced Massa hard and did not run into his rear when he drove very slow through the hairpin, eventually overtook him like he’s been driving these cars for years. The points gap between him and Kvyat has steadily increased and though it did not today he again finished ahead in what was arguably the best position the Toro Rosso could manage on a track where aero plays little part.
PorscheF1 (@xtwl)

2016 Driver of the Weekend winners

RaceDOTW winnerVotes
2016 Australian Grand PrixRomain Grosjean61.0%
2016 Bahrain Grand PrixRomain Grosjean39.4%
2016 Chinese Grand PrixDaniel Ricciardo44.7%
2016 Russian Grand PrixKevin Magnussen32.6%
2016 Spanish Grand PrixMax Verstappen68.5%
2016 Monaco Grand PrixDaniel Ricciardo49.6%
2016 Canadian Grand PrixLewis Hamilton28.5%
2016 European Grand PrixSergio Perez67.3%
2016 Austrian Grand PrixPascal Wehrlein43.2%
2016 British Grand PrixMax Verstappen55.2%
2016 Hungarian Grand PrixKimi Raikkonen38.3%
2016 German Grand PrixDaniel Ricciardo45.5%

2016 German Grand Prix

Browse all 2016 German Grand Prix articles

Author information

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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35 comments on “Ricciardo grabs third Driver of the Weekend win of 2016”

  1. Why people mention Sainz is beyond me. He got a penalty for impeding which dropped him to 16th only a couple of places ahead of his teammate and he only finished a couple of seconds ahead of Kvyat, who was completely broken. People seem to forget that in the first five races Verstappen was consistently dragging the car into the top six so why Sainz’s driver to sixth in Spain was so lauded in the first place. The car is good and I’d say on par with McLaren and possibly Force India

    1. True. Toro Rosso was poor in Germany, but Kvyat was more or less where he always is, so it seemed as if Sainz was underperforming. The track should have suited the Toro Rossos because of its twistiness and the absence of long straights.

    2. Why Mention him?

      Because we love winding up the MV fans that simply cannot accept any comment that rewards the former team mate that had the temerity to actually show MV as a good prospect with some skill but not actually the second coming and while a possible WC in the future has a lot to learn and who knows, might well be beaten on the way by a chap doing a solid job in a car that has 10% of the budget.

      1. Ah ah, love it!

        1. DannyRic has been driver of the year thus far, then there were 2 wins he should of had on top of that.

  2. Sem (@05abrahamsemere)
    21st August 2016, 12:46

    You know I don’t get it…Button has outclassed Alonso once again. He outscored Alonso last year as well as outscoring Hamilton in 2011 AND over three years together. He has proved that he is on the same level as these two yet he is consistently underrated and ignored…he is at least as good as these two and most likely better than Vettel (who was smashed by Ric in 2014 – a driver outscored by JEV, Kyvat and matched by a 19 year old 2nd year rookie).

    In 2010, everyone said Hamilton was going to destroy Button, rather the opposite happened, Button humbled Hamilton.

    In 2013, Perez was tipped to be the next hotshot, Button duly saw him off.

    In 2014, K-Mag was touted as the ‘next Hamilton’, well Button outscored him just like he did to Hamilton.

    Finally, in 2015, Mr ‘El Magico’ Alonso (whom it was said that he had a goldlike ability to manage ‘three-wheeled milkfloats’) arrives at Mclaren, the ‘best driver’, and is outqualified and outpointed by Button that season not to mention Button has also scored the highest qualifying position of the two (4th in Austria 2016).

    What else can Button do to be considered a ‘great’ alongside the likes of Alonso and Hamilton? Perhaps he has to beat Vettel (which would be easier than Alonso/Hamilton).

    Hopefully, Button gets a top car so he can become the multi-champion that he deserves, he is a far better driver than the likes of Vettel, Riccardio, Rosberg, Riakonnen and most likely Verstappen too…

    1. Button hardly had the pace to match those results. He was out paced by Hamilton, and towards the end Perez and even Magnussen at the start of the season and several times in qualifying, and the Dane has proved this year he isn’t the greatest talent. Alonso has been better than Button again this year apart from two races (Austria and Germany)

    2. Button is a driver who makes most of his experience. He isn’t always fast, but he is usually there when there are points for grab. He also seems very close to Alonso, so he is probably still one of the better drivers in Formula 1. I’d say he is right behind Alonso and Hamilton. Perhaps he is behind Vettel, but almost certainly ahead of drivers like Rosberg and Räikkönen. It’s just his unspectacular driving style that causes him to be underestimated by many I feel. With exception of 2001 and 2007-2008 his results have been great.

    3. What else can Button do to be considered a ‘great’ alongside the likes of Alonso and Hamilton?

      Maintain an actual title challenge maybe? In 2010, McLaren were able to compete with Red Bull and Ferrari yet it was Hamilton bringing home the majority of podiums and wins an was in with a shout of the title until late. Same applies in 2010. Same in 2016, sure Button got the best qualifying result but Alonso is the one bringing the heavy points with his 5th and 6th places.

      Button is a good driver no doubt but his only title challenge almost fell apart in the latter stage and his only season I could consider impressive since was 2011.

      he is a far better driver than the likes of Vettel

      Based on what exactly? He beat Hamilton in the mythical 3 year long F1 season?

    4. I think he lacks the killer instinct that Hamilton, Alonso and Vettel have. While those three tend to be outstanding most of the time and have the odd off-day, Button tends to be average most of the time and have the odd outstanding day.

      1. @George I can see Hamilton and Alonso, but Vettel is pretty dull outside his WDC years. Even in 2010 he never a favorite to win the WDC and its a bit of luck for him that other WDC contenders makes big blunders at the end of the season. He definitely not driving like WDC in 2014 and his Ferrari stint is nothing special so far too.

        1. @sonicslv
          Well I’ll accept Vettel hasn’t been as good since his championship years, but IMO during his championship years he was better than Hamilton is currently doing, he was a monster from 2011-13. Over the last two years he’s performed pretty similarly against Raikonnen compared to Alonso, and would have beaten the Mercs more often if it weren’t for his team screwing his strategy.

          1. @George I agree his 2011-13 performance is very good, hence why argue about the other years. After 2013, Vettel seems not motivated when he realized his car can’t win. His drive either doing what expected from multiple WDC, or actually disappointing because silly-ish mistakes he made. I like him as a person and actually rate him very high as a driver, but I don’t think “killer instinct” is something he has now.

          2. @george

            Vettel was never good at all, and was flattered but a ludicrously dominant car. Button is a consistently decent driver, and excellent wheel to wheel. Vettel is mediocre at best, and hopeless in close combat – something that’s being proved ever since he stopped having a car good enough to qualify on pole and disappear into the distance.

        2. @sonicslv
          In 2010, Vettel wasn’t “lucky” with others making blunders. He won the title because he won 3/4 of the final races, and his engine blew while leading in Korea. His performance was excellent in 2008 (8th with Toro Rosso, winning a race from pole), 2009 (2nd, 4 wins), and 2015 (3 wins, 13 podiums).

          1. Hence why I said “a bit” in 2010. His opponents actually have more bad luck than him. As evident by he only lead the championship after the final race, and going in that race as the least favorite to win the championship. Webber was the leading contender for RBR in 2010, and no one can even dreaming Petrov in Renault could hold Alonso and Webber behind him. He is worthy champion in 2010, but he also have luck on his side.

            His performance is still unstable in 2008, 2009 and even 2010, showing flashes of brilliance but also sometimes underperformed, but that was expected from a rookie. 2015 is just average. Ferrari is the second best car with big advantage to the third best car (Williams). Getting podiums and be there to capitalize when the Merc has problems is the minimum they could do.

          2. @sonicslv

            His opponents actually have more bad luck than him. As evident by he only lead the championship after the final race, and going in that race as the least favorite to win the championship.

            Leading only after the final race isn’t the same as being lucky, though. In the first 2 races, Vettel was on course for 2 wins. Then the spark plug failed in Bahrain, and the brakes in Australia. That left him on the back foot instead of leading the championship, through no fault of his own.

            Webber was the leading contender for RBR in 2010, and no one can even dreaming Petrov in Renault could hold Alonso and Webber behind him. He is worthy champion in 2010, but he also have luck on his side.

            No one could dream of Petrov holding Alonso and Webber behind them because the Renault was clearly a worse car. They weren’t unlucky, they were just outperformed on the day, by Vettel, Hamilton and Button.

            And 2015 was well above average, considering he did considerably better than anyone else did with the 2nd best car in his own title winning years.

    5. I couldn’t agree more with this… COTD

    6. Wasn’t Button smashed by Ralf Schumacher, Giancarlo Fisichella and Barrichello (2008)?

      1. Yes David he was.

    7. Also, Button did not “humble” Hamilton in 2010.

    8. Why does everyone forget every season so easily? Hamilton would have destroyed Button in 2012. How many problems Lewis encountered in 2012? Don’t forget 2010 too. Lewis should have outscored Jenson excluding all reliability issues that happend to them. Even so, you might ask where has Jenson been in 2012? Apart from SPA.

      And regarding the Alonso vs Button. From how I see Fernando’s onboards… it looks like different and less aggression somehow…

  3. Verstappen passed ricciardo off track at turn one in Germany, interrupting ricciardos race, I felt the team should have told verstappen to let ricciardo immediately back past.

    1. Charlie Whiting pre-race determined the whole of kerb at turn 1 was legal track (there would not be an investigation unless the drivers were touching the AstroTurf), so the team should have let Ricciardo go by Verstappen because he got overtaken legally?

      1. They’ll grab any excuse lately.

        Verstappen uses the track, uses the rules, uses any trick in the book to score maximum points. Verstappen races like racing should be, it’s about pushing the limits. If your not on the limit you ain’t trying hard enough.

        Little note, after 1,5 half season Verstappen never pushed any other driver of track, crashed only twice taking only himself out.

        1. Tell that to Grosjean :)

        2. Funny, I was sure there was a chap driving a Lotus in Monaco last year…

          And a team mate in front of Max earlier in the year when he very nearly ended the teams race?

          Must have imagined it.

          For goodness sake the kid is good but he has to be measured by normal standards. He has raced over 30 races now. Perhaps the fact someone like Hamilton having won a third of his first 30 races is frustrating for the fans?

          Or could it be that he is a future star and this constant attempt to deride his team mates and actually all other drivers in an attempt to ‘enlighten’ everyone to the fact that MV is some kind of God when he is actually just an excellent racer but has lots of things to learn and will on occasion be shown up by his opposition. REALLY ANNOYING!

      2. “the whole of kerb at turn 1” – but Max Verstappen drove beyond the kerb to overtake Ricciardo – watch the replay.

        1. Germany has some wide kerbs. If you watch the Sky replay of the start you can hear Crofty say at the Ricciardo onboard, “And stayed of the AstroTurf Verstappen as well,” with Brundle confirming it with a “Yeah!”…now why do you think that was?

          1. Kerbs are not the track. The move was legal, but happened off track.
            Grosjean was penalized for something similar in Hungary a few years ago.

          2. Following discussions with the drivers’ on Friday evening, the FIA has now issued a new directive to all teams.

            It reads: “Based upon our observations of the way in which the new kerb on the exit of Turn 12 is used, and the comments made in the drivers’ meeting yesterday [Friday] evening, we feel the usable track limit at Turn 1 should be the outer edge of the kerb, ie: the edge furthest away from the track.

            “The performance of any driver going beyond this point, with any part of the car, will be examined in order to establish whether or not an advantage was gained by exceeding this limit.”

  4. Well, Riciardo is on to win F1 fanatic Championship.. Maybe even a real race this year. Has he had a race where he performed poorly yet?

    1. Depending on what your definition of poorly is, Canada, Baku, Austria and Silverstone could have gone better for him.

      I remember people calling Verstappen had a poor race in Abu Dhabi because he flat spotted his tyres and needed to come in for new ones, and seeing Ricciardo did the same thing in Canada, by that standard that race should should also be called poor. In Baku second half of the race and in Austria and Silverstone the whole race (he should have been faster when Verstappen was driving defensive lines in the dry) he was nowhere relative to his teammate with race pace. In Monaco he also locked up 3 times pretty big and in Hungary he was driving at the end with flat spots.

      He drove well the first half of the season, but we should not exaggerate in him being completely flawless.

      1. Mate…..MV crashed three times in Monaco…..did that slip your mind?

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