‘It’s been two years since Monaco and I’m craving another win’ – Ricciardo

2020 F1 season

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Daniel Ricciardo says he is “craving” a chance to win again, two years since his last F1 victory.

The Renault driver scored his seventh and most recent victory with Red Bull at Monaco in 2018. Speaking before his move to McLaren was announced, Ricciardo described his eagerness to get back to winning ways.

“For sure I’m not the most patient person,” he told Autocar in an interview, “because I believe in myself and that I can be winning races and I don’t want to deny myself that too long.

“It’s now two years since Monaco so it’s been a while for sure since I tasted it and I’m craving it again. But I’ve also [realised], with age, this sport is what it is, it is 20 drivers and not all 20 are going to be in a winning position. It does require patience it’s just how it works.”

With the F1 season still yet to start due to the pandemic, questions marks hang over Renault’s potential performance this year.

“Certainly I want to be up there again winning and that’s why I was really curious to see how Melbourne went for us and see how much of a step we made and how much the team has progressed in the winter,” he said. “All that stuff is interesting to see – I’m curious, the team is curious. I’m hanging out to be on the podium again that’s for sure.”

Ricciardo expects Renault are still “a bit off wins” at the moment.

“We made gains, but we needed to make a pretty big gain to compete with the top three teams so I think we’re certainly still a bit off that. But if I put a positive spin on that… I think we’ve made gains and closed the gap.”

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11 comments on “‘It’s been two years since Monaco and I’m craving another win’ – Ricciardo”

  1. The Red Bull was a winning car and then you left.

  2. Always moaning, whining, crying this utter clown. Imagine losing a championship by 1 point, he would keep talking about it his entire life lol.

  3. F1oSaurus (@)
    28th May 2020, 12:50

    Shame he didn’t get the Ferrari seat. He is a great racer who always seems to provide excitement without resorting to dirty tricks.

    But then who knows how competitive McLaren can become again with lower budgets and all this performance penalty malarkey.

  4. Unfortunately for Danny it may be quite awhile before he gets another win.He is not going to be sitting in the best of seats at least for a couple of seasons.Its to bad as I think he has great race craft.

  5. I recall Brundle saying last year that, ‘it pains me to see Daniel trundling around in the mid field’ and i who;;y support that viewpoint. He’s too good to be wasted in a dud. The Renault was mediocre at best and no driver can shine in a dud. Put Hamilton in that car and he’d do no better than Daniel!!! Hopefully the McLaren built up by Key and managed by Seidl and including a Mercedes engine will enable Daniel to shine once more. We’d all be better off watching him fight with the top three teams…..roll on ’21.

  6. Look before you leap. Ricciardo believed he was a certainty to get the Ferrari seat, but he stood no chance when Vettel was there and when Vettel left, Ferrari didn’t need the bother of having an older 2nd driver Ricciardo has joined the Alonso club.

  7. With the new regulations and budget caps, there is a good chance teams like McLaren and Renault would win again in 2 years time.

  8. I’m a big fan of Daniel, but his recent career choices don’t seem like well thought ones. I still think he could have matched Max even from a seemingly 2nd driver status, which I’m not so sure he was ever really demoted to by RedBull. I can understand that his relationship with RBR soured, but he had the talent to fight Max back, unlike Mark Webber never was on the same level as Seb Vettel.

    Leaving Renault makes a bit more sense than leaving RBR, but McLaren doesn’t feel like a very safe bet now considering their recent layoffs.

    1. Do you think Ferrari are going to far any better on an economic front after covid? McLaren have been making great progress with a much lower budget than Merc Ferrari or RBR over the past 18months, and the limited testing we have seen of the ‘20 cars seemed quite good for McLaren. If there are two teams I’d be looking at to upset the current standings I’d put my money on Aston Martin or McLaren. RBR have there #1 as do Ferrari & Merc.

  9. Admit it, Daniel, what you crave most is the “tangy” taste of champagne in a shoey!

  10. I think ricciardo can’t really complain about not having the car to win considering he left it.

    I’ve never been a supporter of the decision to leave for renault, and red bull in 2019 definitely lacked something: a 2nd capable driver, they’d have got 5 wins total with ricciardo in.

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