Australian Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo has ignited the racing world with some classy early form four races into his career with Red Bull Racing, but is the 24-year-old already looking to supplant Sebastian Vettel as the team’s No.1 man?
Ricciardo spoke to Autosport this week where he discussed his standing among the Red Bull Racing team, saying he believed his early season success has helped changed the team’s perception of him.
“I’m not saying they didn’t believe in me, but now I’ve had some good results that’s given me confidence, and that makes my feedback come across as much more precise and I think they have more reason to trust me,” Daniel Ricciardo said ahead of this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix.
Had he not been thrown off the podium in the season opener in Melbourne in a controversial FIA decision over fuel usage, Ricciardo would currently lead Vettel in the driver standings. Instead the Aussie trails his German teammate by a slim margin despite outperforming the four-time world champion with two fourth placed finishes in April GPs in Bahrain and China.
The hot start appears to have Ricciardo’s confidence soaring at a new level.
“The team has really started to build around both of us,” he continued. “I’d say we’re on an even playing field.”
“It’s still too early for the team to say: ‘you’re the number one guy, let’s listen to you and not really listen to the other guy’. We have to see.
“If it continued like this up to August then maybe everything will change but it’s definitely still too early.
“Seb’s got quite a lot more experience than me, he’s still providing a lot of good feedback and to be honest I’m still learning, even in the debriefs, trying to understand the best way to get my point across.”
Vettel has already shown a slight bit of distain to Ricciardo’s early season success and it’s not the first time he’s had a run-in with a successful Aussie teammate. One can’t help but wonder how Ricciardo’s latest comments will go down with the German champ.
In related RBR news, Vettel will hit Barcelona this week with a brand new chassis, however RBR is saying the switch is a routine move and not a reaction to driver’s slow start.
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