Daniel Ricciardo met with the following media on Thursday ahead of the Miami Grand Prix. SB Nation, we talk about the season so far, the upcoming race in Miami, and more. But among the topics discussed that morning was a race that meant so much to Ricciardo, and to the F1 world as a whole.
The race that awaits us this week.
After an emotional week in Imola, F1 heads to its crowning jewel, the Monaco Grand Prix, where Ricciardo conquered the fields and the streets of Monte Carlo in 2018, a race that counts among his eight F1 wins. As Ricciardo said of the recent Monaco Grand Prix, it’s an event that makes even the drivers stop in their tracks and appreciate what they have.
Asked in Miami how special Monaco is, Ricciardo said: “Well, the immediate answer is yes, because I’m thinking about qualifying.”
“I think of the event itself as a driver. The feeling of being in Monaco, you feel…I don’t want to sound like this, but I’m not sure if materialism is the right word. Well, you feel like, “You’re a superstar,” Ricciardo added.
Ricciardo went on to say that as a driver, the Monaco Grand Prix is a moment where you have to stop and pinch yourself and remember that what you have to do is quite special.
“But this is the only place where I think, ‘I’m doing something really great.’ And this is the only place where I’m really grateful for the work I do, even if I’m not grateful,” Ricciardo added. Ta.
“There’s something like an aura around that event, that race. Saturday’s qualifying in Monaco is one of the most intense emotions we feel as drivers,” Ricciardo continued. “Even though it’s Sunday, yeah, it might be a little different. Maybe Sunday will never be perfect. I think the event and Saturday are still good enough.”
Ricciardo experienced both good and bad times at the Monaco Grand Prix. He took pole position for Red Bull at the 2016 Monaco Grand Prix and was leading the race when he pitted on lap 32. There was just one problem.
The team wasn’t ready for him.
Crews in the garage sprang into action, but the damage was done. Ricciardo returned to the streets of Monte Carlo in second place behind Lewis Hamilton, where he finished.
Written several years later Ricardo explained how tough the day was for him.
“Four years on, I still remember that day in detail, like a video in my head. I can picture myself racing around the corner before the tunnel after that pit stop and I was so angry. I didn’t finish the race because I didn’t care about the mechanicals, I didn’t want to talk to anyone afterwards and I certainly didn’t want sympathy… pure anger,” Ricciardo wrote. 2020 on social media.
“I remember standing on the podium with Lewis and he was winning the race that I was controlling…I just didn’t want to be there.”
Salvation came two years later. At the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix, Ricciardo again took pole position, but reported a loss of power to his team just before the halfway point. His RB14 experienced a power outage on his MGU-K, reducing horsepower and leaving him with only six functioning gears.
That was enough for him as he managed to hold off Sebastian Vettel’s charge and take the checkered flag, achieving some redemption.
“I’m not going to lie, 2016 Monaco bothered me for two years, and in 2018 I thought I wouldn’t make a single mistake and victory would slip away from me again… In Monaco, if you can maintain the lead, in the first corner from pole, you’re the one to lose. The race is in your hands. But in 2018, it simply happened there in ’16. It was a different level of stress because of that.” A few years later Ricardo wrote:. “The main feeling was pure relief that it wasn’t taken away from me this time.”
Ricardo celebrated his victory in typical Ricardo fashion with a swan diving into the pool.
Will we see another swan diving this week?
It may seem unlikely, but it shows that Ricciardo, and perhaps the rest of the drivers on the grid, understand how special the Monaco Grand Prix is.
