Daniel Ricciardo, Renault, Yas Marina, 2019

“I don’t like seeing myself in ninth” – Ricciardo

RaceFans Round-up

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In the round-up: Daniel Ricciardo admits he was unhappy with his 2019 championship position of ninth, his lowest since he drove for Toro Rosso in 2013.

What they say

Ricciardo was asked what he thought of his championship finishing position:

I don’t see myself as the ninth-best driver on the grid. I guess if that’s if that’s what it is. I don’t look into it too much because I believe I’m better.

Do I want to be ninth for the next few years and have the excuse I’m better than ninth, and it’s just what it is? No. So I don’t like seeing myself in ninth.

Quotes: Dieter Rencken

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Comment of the day

Is Racing Point’s Aston Martin tie-up anything to get excited about?

I may be in the minority but I’m a bit cold on Aston Martin taking over Force India/Racing Point.

Firstly I’m personally not keen on their cars but mainly it’s another manufacturer – another big-ish car company that can pull the plug when funding or sales don’t look good and disappear. I get nervous of those teams long term futures far more than the smaller organisations that exist mostly as just a racing entity and as a fan seen too many ‘favourite teams’ just up and leave when it suits them.

I suppose I think the ‘privateer’ teams are more F1’s lifeblood than manufacturers that come and go, and seeing FI/RP become yet another car company is a little sad. The only positive is Stroll seems like he wants to stick around a while so maybe so will Aston Martin? In some ways I think their future is a little more precarious than it was before.
Adam (@Rocketpanda)

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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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19 comments on ““I don’t like seeing myself in ninth” – Ricciardo”

  1. Very nice CotD, @rocketpanda, one that should temper people’s excitement at seen green – likely – make a reappearance on the grid. That said, I too share your cautious optimism about Lawrence Stroll working the team/alliance as a business that needs to succeed.

  2. partly agree with cotd. though, the current trend to bring manufacturers on-board as sponsors, with naming rights, seems like the right direction for their involvement. we know ferrari is staying put. and least we think we do, especially with their special payment. but, merc must be wondering how much more they need to do to get the same type of deal.

  3. she said after filling her bankaccount :)

  4. Aston Martin on Force India is just a sticker on a team, just like Alfa Romeo on Sauber. If Alfa decides to go, Sauber will keep on going regardless.

    1. (Remember BMW?)

    2. @James Coulee Not really, though.

    3. Highly doubt it. How is it a sticker. Stroll has given Aston half a £billion. I think he might want to make his money in the town companies he more or less owns now.

      1. ……two companies…….Edit button please Keith!!!

        1. I’m not sure he’s finished buying companies. Next up Merc. Then Ferrari. Then buys out Liberty. Then Stroll Jr. wins the championship. By being the only driver to be the #1 driver at 4 teams at the same time.

          1. Even then the number two drivers will beat him.

    4. Not really, more like Caterham…

  5. Lol yesterday I pretty much predicted the fia quarrel was going to evolve into this.

  6. I share the same sentiments as the COTD to an extent, although more concerning Lawrence sticking around for a while.

  7. Driver recruitment insights from the man who hired Mahaveer Raghunathan? Tomorrow, the Yuji Ide Guide to Winning the World Championship!

  8. Woo COTD. Wanted to clarify – AM’s mainly a sponsorship deal, so it’s not necessarily a pure manufacturer in the same sense as the others but it’s taken away a unique identity off the grid and replaced it with a car brand. There’s certainly a romantic notion of Ferraris fighting Mercedes and now Aston Martins, but what if AM doesn’t improve, and stays in the midfield? How long are they going to stick around for? How long is Stroll going to stick around for? We all thought Toyota, BMW and Honda were in it for the long term and they all left when it got tough. It seems Mercedes & Renault are considering their long term involvement too. Stroll’s not even the first ‘involved’ billionaire that appeared and left either. Lotus did a similar ‘sponsorship title’ thing didn’t they and where are they now? Gone too.

    You don’t get that from teams that were constructed mainly to race – including AM’s former identity. They just usually run out of money and collapse, which is a different argument that needs to be addressed. People say Sauber survived BMW’s leaving but they very nearly didn’t and have never reached the same level of performance. Brawn/Mercedes nearly didn’t survive Honda’s withdrawl either and it took them years of huge investment to get back there, and what Toyota was disappeared completely. Losing a manufacturer harms F1 but losing the pure racing teams I think is worse in the long term. F1 should protect those identities far more than a fickle car company.

    All that said, the ‘Racing Point’ name was terrible though.

  9. GtisBetter (@)
    2nd February 2020, 14:47

    Surprised by Chadwick comment. If you ask any driver in F1 if they were ready most of them would say no, but they all jumped at the chance, cause it is a once in a lifetime opportunity. She is right about F3 and F2. You need to find the right team, cause even there money buys you points.

  10. Riccardo may be lower then 9th the coming season.. Renault seems to be all in for 2021..

    1. Ricardo only has himself to blaim. He had the 3rd best car in the Grid, possibly the 2nd best if you allow for oil-gate, he only had to manage is relationship with Max, instead he jumped ship. Personally i blam the influence of that F1 documentary which being filmed at the time for Netflix.

    2. Renault have to perform reasonable well in 2020 though or they may not have Daniel Ricciardo as a driver. His contract with them only runs until the end of 2020. If it gets to half way through the season and there has not been significant improvement, then he will looking for the option of a move I expect.

      Daniel might even be willing to play second fiddle if the drive is with one of the current top 3 teams. Hopefully it won’t come to this though and Renault will deliver.

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