Daniel Ricciardo showed just what he could do at the Mexican Grand Prix, however, his P13 finish overshadowed his incredible run at Sao Paulo. The Australian driver had one of the best runs of all time which went completely unnoticed.
Daniel started his race from the pitlane after getting his car repaired after a collision. The collision involved Alex Albon and Kevin Magnussen but affected Ricciardo’s race too. A tire was seen flying off and hitting Ricciardo’s rear wing. This caused the driver to pit and get his car repaired.
The race was red-flagged which had all drivers get into the pitlane until everything was cleared for debris. But the same could not be said for Ricciardo who was asked to start his race in the pitlane. The Australian and Piastri were also one lap behind all the drivers as per the rules.
Nonetheless, this did not stop Ricciardo from doing something incredible. Although he was one whole lap behind all the drivers, he was considered to be in the Top 5 drivers according to his lap times. While Yuki Tsunoda got the team more points, all eyes were on Ricciardo’s lap times compared to Tsunoda.
The AlphaTauri fans have asked for the lap by lap analysis – Ricciardo vs. Tsunoda. Here you gooo…. #F1 pic.twitter.com/b4FTWA8ijQ
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) November 5, 2023
He was one of the fastest drivers on the field with one of his fastest laps being 1.13 seconds. Meanwhile, Yuki Tsunoda recorded a fastest of 1.14 seconds. Nonetheless, the AlphaTauri team struggled to get any advantages from Ricciardo’s Top 5 run due to the “lame” rule according to Ricciardo.
Daniel Ricciardo mentions the last time he felt comfortable in an F1 car
Daniel Ricciardo was praised for his Mexican Grand Prix. The driver was able to leave Lewis Hamilton in the back as he qualified P4. The driver qualified right behind Max Verstappen for the race. This would also be AlphaTauri’s first great qualifying result that stuck with them for a good result.
While the AlphaTauri team has had Yuki Tsunoda winning them one point at a time, Daniel Ricciardo completely changed the scenario for them. After a great qualifying, Ricciardo turned his P4 into a P7. This not only helped him gain some great points but also helped his AlphaTauri team move up two spots.
After dangling at the end of the Constructors Championship, they took up two spots ahead of Alfa Romeo and Haas. After his Mexican Grand Prix, the driver was asked when he last felt comfortable with an F1 car.
Tom Clarkson: “When did you last feel that comfortable in an #F1 car?
Daniel Ricciardo: “1996, I think it was…
…it’s been a while. I’d probably have to go back to 2021 as opposed to 2022.”#BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/oWUBIT9K6e
— Autosport (@autosport) November 2, 2023
While it was a great performance last weekend, the driver had a different answer. He said, “1996, I think it was! It’s been a while. It wasn’t like every weekend at McLaren was bad. There were some that were good but I’d probably have to go back to more… 2021 as opposed to 2022.”
The driver mentioned his time with McLaren. However, McLaren soon let Ricciardo go which left the Australian driver with no seat for 2023.