Daniel Ricciardo has reflected well on his journey with Red Bull Racing in his last podcast with the team while adding on rivalry with Max Verstappen, effect of Jules Bianchi’s death, the high 2014 F1 season and more.
Ricciardo opens up the parting podcast talking about the last day at Red Bull before he embarks on a new life as a Renault driver from 2019 onward. He takes us back to his journey into motor racing from Australia to Europe.
He certainly believes that without Red Bull, he wouldn’t have achieved what he has in his career – his dad got him into the sport but Red Bull made a career out of it. He rates the 2014 season as his beat with the team.
He not only got his first-ever F1 win but the 29-year-old earned three victories in a season which he hasn’t been able to repeat – that too on his debut season with Red Bull against four-time champion Sebastian Vettel.
Ricciardo did not want to talk about the 2015 season which he felt was a hard year with personal troubles and also the death of Jules Bianchi following the horrific crash in Japanese GP under treacherous conditions.
He moves to talk about the Monaco win in 2018 which he reiterates was more sweeter after what happened in 2016. Talking about his bests with Red Bull, he rates the win in 2014 Hungarian GP as his best of the lot from the seven.
The overtake on teammate Vettel in 2014 Italian GP was the highlight for him in terms of the moves he attempted while 2018 Monaco GP victory was the best moment in all his Red Bull career. The lowest was 2018 US GP when he had his seventh DNF of the season.
As his last message which was played post 26 minutes in the podcast, Ricciardo talks about the team bond and his relation with Verstappen which he feels was better than he expected it will turn out to be.
He says since he will now race for a different team, the relation won’t be hugely affected apart from the usual on-track scuffle if any between rivals. He ends the podcast with a fine message for the whole of Red Bull family.
