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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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
Notice a difference? 😉#Gen2EVO launches 04.02.20 pic.twitter.com/6s1SHMToOA
— ABB Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) January 31, 2020
Today's Total!! Keep up the good work. Let's hit that 100k mark and get #dragracing !!!! #savemelbourneraceway pic.twitter.com/hTybhUxhw7
— Melbourne Raceway (@MelbourneRacew1) January 30, 2020
Not necessarily – as I said, who knows? And that meeting will not be on12th: although a Daimler source provided the date to us upon request, it seems either he was out by a few days or it has been changed.
— Fritz-Dieter Rencken (@RacingLines) February 1, 2020
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Links
More motor racing links of interest:
Chadwick in no rush to reach F1 (Racer)
"I know what I want to achieve; I want to be ready for Formula 1 if I get there, so even if Claire (Williams) turned around to me and said, ‘Right, we’ve got an extra seat, do you want it?’ I probably at this point would be very, very reluctant to take it because I don’t think I’m ready yet."
The inside track on driver recruitment (F2)
"In Holland the sport is booming, we are sat here now and it’s like being at home, it’s incredible. That has in turn boosted a lot of younger kids to make their first steps in the sport and of course, we are quite happy to push for that. We had Richard (Verschoor) this year (in F3) and he’s part of the Dutch Federation's Team NL programme, which helps young drivers. He was one who was with us in F4 and moved up to F3, so we knew what he was capable of."
Sirotkin: Hard to accept F1 dream likely over forever (Autosport)
"To be honest, when you don't think about it it doesn't really hurt, but every day it happens that you're reminded about it, and it's really- I don't know, I'm not emotionless about it, it's not the least important thing in my life, so for me it's always been quite painful and will remain that way."
Kanaan emotional but escapes without tears (IndyCar)
"When I started racing, all I wanted to do was race, win, beat everybody. I wouldn't talk to my team mates like before I came here. They were my first rivals, and that was it. That's all that matters. And growing up, I wanted to be an IndyCar driver and I wanted to win the Indy 500. I wanted to do this. And that was being extremely selfish."
Toyota Racing Series Round 3 Race 1 Highlights (Toyota Racing Series via YouTube)
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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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Phylyp (@phylyp)
2nd February 2020, 0:35
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.
Fasr
2nd February 2020, 0:36
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.
fluxs2
2nd February 2020, 0:36
she said after filling her bankaccount :)
James Coulee
2nd February 2020, 1:09
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.
James Coulee
2nd February 2020, 1:13
(Remember BMW?)
Jere (@jerejj)
2nd February 2020, 8:12
@James Coulee Not really, though.
Invisiblekid (@invisiblekid)
2nd February 2020, 10:12
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.
Invisiblekid (@invisiblekid)
2nd February 2020, 10:12
……two companies…….Edit button please Keith!!!
Jimmi Cynic (@jimmi-cynic)
2nd February 2020, 10:47
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.
sethje (@seth-space)
2nd February 2020, 14:53
Even then the number two drivers will beat him.
JC
2nd February 2020, 15:01
Not really, more like Caterham…
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
2nd February 2020, 5:18
Lol yesterday I pretty much predicted the fia quarrel was going to evolve into this.
Jere (@jerejj)
2nd February 2020, 8:11
I share the same sentiments as the COTD to an extent, although more concerning Lawrence sticking around for a while.
Tom L. (@tom-l)
2nd February 2020, 10:30
Driver recruitment insights from the man who hired Mahaveer Raghunathan? Tomorrow, the Yuji Ide Guide to Winning the World Championship!
Adam (@rocketpanda)
2nd February 2020, 11:15
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.
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.
Ronny
2nd February 2020, 18:59
Riccardo may be lower then 9th the coming season.. Renault seems to be all in for 2021..
Ajaxn
2nd February 2020, 19:44
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.
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
2nd February 2020, 20:50
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.