Ricciardo 'more mature' after difficult 2018 campaign
- Published on 12 Feb 2019 14:01
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- By: Fergal Walsh
Daniel Ricciardo believes that he is a more mature person as he heads into his maiden season with Renault. Ricciardo joins the Enstone squad alongside Nico Hulkenberg after spending five years with Red Bull Racing, where he picked up seven victories.
Renault launched its 2019 challenger, the R.S 19 on Tuesday at its Enstone factory. Speaking about the upcoming year, Ricciardo validated his excitement for the new challenge with Renault, who is looking to make inroads on returning to the front of the grid.
"Renault has a massive history in motorsport, so to be part of the next step of their Formula 1 journey is an exciting challenge,” Ricciardo said. “I’m here to do a job on track and drive as fast as possible, but I would like to bring the team energy.
"I want to put a spring in everyone’s step because that’s part of my job and also my character. I aim to be able to get the team to work that extra bit harder, put in more effort and rally everyone together. I’d like to be a catalyst for positive energy.”
The Australian's final season with Red Bull was plagued with reliability issues. The 29-year-old took two race victories at China and Monaco, but the wins proved to be his only podiums throughout the year.
Ricciardo was left frustrated on many occasions after being hampered by car problems, related to both the Renault engine and the RB14, but he claims his 2018 campaign has allowed him to mature as a racing driver.
"Everything I learnt in 2018 will make me a better version of myself in 2019,” Ricciardo said.
“The difference will be a more mature person. I have more clarity of where I’m going and I aim for that to be shown with good results on track. I feel a lot of positive pressure and expectation to do good things, but that’s something I’m looking forward to taking on."
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Replies (7)
Login to replyf1ski
Posts: 726
don't recall many /any incidents i would have called immature
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Maaaybe Baku, but it took two to that tango.
Mansell
Posts: 104
Glad he's away from the Spoilt dutch kid BS,
boudy
Posts: 1,168
Not sure that you can change your personality nor do I think that he should. In 2018 Ricciardo was next to one of the fastest drivers around and in the years before they both were frustrated by their engine failures. Does Ricciardo now have an thicker skin because of engine failures again in 2019? I hope he doesn't change since I like him however if he has loads of failures he is bound too.
blade
Posts: 341
I think the maturity thing is about his elevating his feelings to a higher plane - not getting down too much - we clearly saw how that affected him in 2018 "that's it, I'm done with this car , give it to......" That kind of reaction is totally understandable - maybes he's talking about taking the kicks just a little better than he was in 2018. I too hope he doesn't change one bit - he's great sport and a breath of fresh air compared to all others.
blade
Posts: 341
ps. anyone think the Hulk will beat DRic over a season?
Ram Samartha
Posts: 1,172
Looking forward to watching the competition. Should be fun! I think Danny Ric is faster but we'll see.