Daniel Ricciardo completed a strong weekend in Hungary today with a solid sixth place finish in race two. The Australian racer struggled to match the dominant pace he displayed yesterday, but still managed to finish sixth and strengthen his second place in the drivers’ standings in the competitive Formula Renault 3.5 Series.
Having dominated qualifying yesterday in the compulsory low downforce set-up, Ricciardo’s Tech 1 team struggled to find the perfect set up for the second qualifying session this morning. Despite struggling to find grip, Ricciardo did well to put his car seventh on the grid for this afternoon’s race.
Once again conditions remained hot and humid for the final race of the weekend. The Red Bull Junior racer lost out at the start, initially dropping back to 10th place, but fought back by staying out late during the pit stop window to put in some stunning laps and climb up the order.
Having made his compulsory pit stop, Daniel came out in sixth place, the position he would maintain to the chequered flag.
Speaking about his day, Daniel said, “Today was pretty difficult for us to be honest. Yesterday I felt like the car was on the limit, but it was a good limit; I felt like I could really push hard. This morning though in qualifying, it was really difficult. I felt I was doing all I could in the car, but it just wasn’t fast. There just didn’t seem to be enough grip to push anymore.
“I had an ok race, I managed to make up one place but to be honest we just didn’t have the pace for me to make up many more. It’s a bit of a disappointing end to the weekend considering how dominant we were yesterday, but we’re still in a very strong position and will work hard over the break to make sure we’re in the best possible shape for the next race in September.
The Formula Renault 3.5 drivers will now take a lengthy seven week break for the next round in Hockenheim, Germany from 3 – 5 September.
Daniel Ricciardo stormed to his second victory of the season today following a dominant performance in the Hungarian round of the 2010 Formula Renault 3.5 season. The Perth born racer put in a stunning performance to take his fifth pole position of the season this morning, and then completed his day with a lights-to-flag victory around the Hungaroring this afternoon.
Hot and humid conditions once again greeted the drivers this morning as they took to the track for qualifying ahead of the first race of the weekend. Daniel looked strong from the outset and was clearly the driver to beat as he took provisional pole in the opening stages.
Taking to the track on new tyres half way through qualifying, Ricciardo strengthened his position further and by the chequered flag had taken pole by over half a second.
As the lights went out at the start of race one this afternoon, Ricciardo made a good start and managed to stay ahead of his main championship rival Mikhail Aleshin. By lap five the gap was nearly three seconds, but a safety car period to recover a stranded car bunched up the field again.
At the restart, Daniel found himself under attack from Aleshin who had gained momentum, but the young Australian defended well and once he had broke the tow managed to break away again. In a dominant performance, Daniel remained unchallenged for the remained of the race, taking victory by an impressive 13 seconds.
Race winner Daniel said, “It was a really hot race today and I think that probably affected a lot of the drivers. As an Australian, I was probably slightly better equipped to deal with that than some of the guys from Northern Europe!
“I had an ok start, but I was still relieved to be leading in the first corner – which had been the aim. After the safety car it took me a couple of laps to get back into the rhythm; I think I must have picked up some rubbish on my tyres. Once I managed to pull away a few seconds it was easier to build up a gap, and I could see from my pit board that I was gradually building up a bigger and bigger gap.
“Tomorrow will be the high down force race, so we might see some different drivers rise to the top. We aim to stay where we are though and make a repeat performance tomorrow.”
Having only just celebrated his 21st birthday yesterday, Australian racer Daniel Ricciardo had little time to reflect as he took part in collective testing at the Hungaroring circuit on the outskirts of Budapest today. The Red Bull Junior was on track preparing for the fifth event of the 2010 Formula Renault 3.5 Series and was consistently among the front runners in testing on Friday.
At a hot and humid Hungaroring, Daniel tested for 75 minutes this morning, as he worked through his own test programme. At the end of the session, Daniel was tenth, but happy with the pace of his Tech 1 car.
Following a break for lunch, testing resumed this afternoon with another 75 minutes available to the drivers to perfect their set-up. Daniel continued to work through his programme, also testing a low downforce set-up in preparation for tomorrow’s compulsory low downforce race. As the session drew to a close, Ricciardo was third quickest.
Reflecting on his day, Daniel said, “We made good progress today. We worked on our own test programme and we weren’t really looking at what anyone else was doing. I think we have good pace on both old and new tyres. We’ll see where everyone is in qualifying tomorrow, but I feel pretty confident that we’ll have good pace.”
Qualifying for round 10 for the 2010 season will take place at 09.00 local time tomorrow.
How has your season gone so far? I think being second in the championship at the half way point is a pretty good position to be in. We’ve had four pole positions, and clearly we haven’t always translated that into a race win, but we’ve had good pace. I think we’re in a strong position for the rest of the season.
You’re second in the championship and still one of the favourites to win the title. What do you think your chances are of winning your second consecutive title this season? I still feel very positive and confident. I think my chances are as good as Mikhail [Aleshin, current championship leader]. The points are so close that after this weekend, it could all be different. Budapest is a circuit I really like; I’ve had good results there before. I think the season finishing at Barcelona is also good as its one of my favourite circuits. Looking at the calendar there are some of my favourite circuits coming up and of course I have more experience in the series now so I think the second half of the year could be even better for us than the first half.
How would you rate the level of competitive in FR3.5 this year? I’d say it’s quite high. I think historically, it’s usually the experienced guys who have shown they can do the business in FR3.5 so I think I’m doing a fairly good job to be as competitive as I am in my first year. I think being consistent is a key thing, even if you’re not winning every race, being on the podium every weekend is essential. A lot of the front runners have done two or more seasons at this level, so its pretty competitive, so I think I have more competitors than I maybe did last year.
You took a fantastic win in Monaco earlier this year, what impact has that had on you? That win was everything really, if I had to pick just one race to win all season it would be that one. It has given my confidence a boost. I know that if I have a bad day I can look at that race and know I have it in myself, that I won on that circuit, so it’s a nice little boost on the difficult days.
If that has been the high point of your season, what has been the low point? I think Brno in the Czech Republic was a very average round, but then I wasn’t sure what to expect there as it was my first visit to that circuit. Spa is a track I love and I’ve had some great results there in the past, so it was really disappointing not to get good results there. I knew I should have been challenging for a podium, so starting at the back was not a good feeling. I’d say that was probably the low point of the season.
The Tech 1 team is one of the strongest in World Series. Are you working well with the team? They’re a pretty young team but they’ve built up a good reputation of being a fast team. I think at most of the rounds we’ve had a car good enough for the podium and they’ve done a god job. Along the way I’ve made a few mistakes, and the team have made a few mistakes as well; we haven’t had the best pit stops on some occasions and a few other things. Hopefully we can build on our progress so far and take it up to that next level which we need to do if we want to win the championship. I feel confident in the people around me and that they have the same goals as me.
You’ve been very busy this year with F1 duties and testing in the Red Bull simulator, do you think that has had any impact on your performance this season? Honestly, no. I think the travelling sometimes can be time consuming but that only makes me work harder when I am at home as you have to make the most of your time. It certainly isn’t a problem in the car; I’m no more tired than I’ve ever been – you just have to be more constructive with your time. It’s also really good experience to be doing and seeing as much as possible.
You race alongside Brendon Hartley at Tech 1, does it make a difference to be racing against a Red Bull team mate? No, I wouldn’t say so. There’s a bit of pressure on both of us; we’re quite experienced now so we’re expected to get good results, but I wouldn’t say its had a negative effect. We both know what we’re capable of and can push each other a lot more. It’s always good to have a competitive team mate, it’s more of a test, more of a challenge and both of us enjoy that.
You’re a long way from home, but do you still feel the support from Australia? Yes, this year in particular had been really good. I think since winning the British F3 championship and getting the reserve F1 role, interest has really picked up. Going back to Australia for the Grand Prix as reserve driver was a great experience and a fantastic way for me to start the season.
Every year I’m getting more support and more interest from the media. There are a few magazines now who regularly send me copies with coverage of my races, and I’m getting more phone calls and more TV queries from home. It’s great to think that people back home are following my progress.
I’m also really lucky in that my immediate family are able to come out to my races a couple of times a year which makes a big difference. And the good thing this year is that they are showing the FR3.5 races live at home, so my friends can see my racing and I’m always getting messages from friends – hopefully saying well done! Its makes home feel a bit closer.
Day one of racing action in Magny Cours was frustrating for Perth’s Daniel Ricciardo today, as the Red Bull Junior took part in round eight of the 2010 Formula Renault 3.5 season. The 20 year-old racer saw his qualifying session hampered by traffic and a mechanical problem, while a serious lack of grip created a difficult race in which Daniel finished sixth this afternoon.
Despite rain early this morning, the track was dry enough to allow the FR3.5 drivers to take to the track on slick tyres for the first qualifying session of the weekend. Having been quickest in wet practice and third fastest in the dry yesterday, Daniel was confident ahead of the 30 minute session.
As is often the case in FR3.5 events, traffic proved to be the main problem this morning, with finding a good space on track the main aim for the drivers. Just as Daniel managed to put in a clear lap, a slipping clutch started to create problems for the young Australian. Daniel set his quickest lap despite the clutch issue, but as the problem worsened the car lost all ability to change gear and the Tech 1 man was left stranded out on track as the session ended.
With the clutch problem solved, Daniel lined up on the grid 10th for this afternoon’s race. As the race got underway, he made a good start and had made up four places to climb to sixth place and by lap three was fifth. As the race entered a steady rhythm however, Daniel found himself under attack from Daniel Zampieri and Albert Costa and as he struggled to gain any grip, lost out and dropped to seventh. Sten Pentus also tried to take advantage of Daniel’s lack of traction – passing him on lap 17 – but Daniel made the place back when Pentus later spun in the slippery conditions.
As the race continued the track barely dried with conditions staying treacherous until the end. As other drivers took desperate measures in the closing stages, several went off track, but Daniel drove a mature race to cross the line in sixth place.
Speaking about his day Daniel said, “The day didn’t start off well to be honest. I did my best lap in qualifying while I had the clutch problem, which is really frustrating because we know we had the pace to be at the front and I was doing fastest sectors at the start of the session. The clutch was slipping so much towards the end that the car was just in natural so I couldn’t get back to the pits.
“In the race I just couldn’t get the tyres to work, there was definitely an issue and the team are still looking into it. There was just zero grip and I was powerless to defend from the quick guys behind, but thankfully some of them then went on to make mistakes and I made up places again. Tomorrow is a new day, we have another qualifying session and race so there’s still a lot of potential for a podium here.”
Qualifying for round nine will take place at 09.15am tomorrow local time, with race two concluding the weekend at 13.04.
Daniel Ricciardo was back in action today, as round eight and nine of the Formula Renault 3.5 season got underway at the Circuit de Nevers Magny Cours, France. The 20 year-old racer is second in the drivers’ standing by just three points.
It’s been a busy time for Daniel since he left the Czech Republic 10 days ago. The Australian has travelled to Canada for the Formula 1 Grand Prix in his duties as reserve driver for the Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso F1 teams. Sitting in on driver briefings, engineering meetings and sitting on the pit wall during track sessions, Daniel has bee witnessing first hand the workings of a top F1 team.
Having returned from Canada, Daniel has been busy training and working on the simulator at the Red Bull factory in Milton Keynes, England.
Having left the unusually sunny UK weather behind him, Daniel took part in the first session of collective testing this morning at a grey and wet Magny Cours circuit. Daniel dealt well with the changing conditions and as the drivers made the switch to slick tyres, the Red Bull Junior found the most grip and set the quickest time of the morning.
Despite a few spots of rain early on, the second session of the day was dry. Daniel proved he was quick both in the wet and the dry conditions as he continued to post lap times amongst the front runners. As the session drew to a close, Daniel was third fastest and happy with this car set-up.
Speaking about his progress, Daniel said, “We had a pretty constructive day considering the changing weather conditions. It’s difficult to stick to a constructive test programme when the weather is so changeable but I think we proved today that we were quick in the dry and the wet. The team have good knowledge of the circuit which has been a really good base to build on. I’m looking forward to getting some solid points this weekend.”
Daniel Ricciardo closed the gap in the drivers’ standing of the 2010 Formula Renault 3.5 Series today, with a fifth place finish at the Brno circuit in the Czech Republic. The Red Bull Junior concluded a difficult weekend with a well earned fifth place and has closed the gap to the championship leader to just three points.
After a difficult race yesterday, Daniel endured a disappointing qualifying session this morning, once again struggling to get a lap free from traffic. The young Australian wasted little time in improving his 11th place grid slot however, as race two of the weekend got underway this afternoon. Following a strong start, the race was forced into a calmer pace due to an early safety car period, as track marshals cleared away the debris from a multi-car accident.
At the restart, Daniel made good ground and was soon in a close battle with his former British F3 rival Walter Grubmuller for seventh place. As the pair raced wheel to wheel, ninth place man Jan Charouz managed to pass both drivers on his home circuit to snatch seventh place from the duo.
After a good pit stop from his Tech 1 team, Daniel had made up places to lie fifth and was once again nose to tail with Grubmuller, with third placed man Filip Salaquarda just ahead of him. However, all three had to settle for their existing positions as overtaking proved difficult in the final stages, with Daniel consequently crossing the line fifth and earning six precious points.
With his championship rivals also suffering difficult weekends, Daniel remains second in the drivers’ championship and has closed the gap to first place to just three points.
Reflecting on his first visit to the Brno circuit, Daniel said, “We had a better result today. It was good to finally get some points on the board. My race pace was actually quite good today and I was able to gain some places at the start and during the pit stop window by putting the guys in front under pressure. We still weren’t where we should have been though and we’ll be working hard tomorrow to try and find some answers. It wasn’t the weekend it shouldn’t have been for us, so its positive that we’ve been able to close the gap in the points standings despite that.”
Daniel will take part in a one day collective test at the Brno circuit tomorrow, before returning to racing action in Magny Cours, France in two weeks time.
Monaco race winner Daniel Ricciardo endured a difficult outing today, in round six of the 2010 Formula Renault 3.5 Series. The 20 year-old Australian was hampered by yellow and red flags in qualifying which put him in an unfamiliar 14th place on the grid for race one in Brno in the Czech Republic today. A difficult race saw him cross the line in 12th place.
Qualifying this morning was an unusually disappointing affair for Daniel; the Tech 1 driver started race one this afternoon from 14th on the grid. Traffic, yellow flags and a red flag in the final minutes of the session severely compromised the young Australian’s qualifying performance. His final flying lap, which would have seen him jump into the top three, was brought to an early conclusion when a car spun in the dying moments of the session, bringing qualifying to an end with 2 minutes still on the clock.
Despite his frustration in qualifying, Daniel made a strong start in this afternoon’s race. By the end of lap two, the Red Bull Junior had moved up to 11th place, just on the edge of the point scoring positions. As the race got into a steady rhythm, Daniel appeared to struggle for pace and dropped to 12th. In an uneventful race that saw little overtaking, Daniel had to be content with 12th as he crossed the line after 45 minutes.
While Daniel suffered a disappointing day compared to his usual high standards, he could at least take solace in the fact that his main championship rivals also failed to pick up significant points. The Perth man consequently still sits second in the drivers’ championship.
Reflecting on the day, Daniel said, “It’s been a very disappointing day today. I had one flying lap in the whole of qualifying this morning due to various issues. I was on a flying lap right at the end, but the session was red flagged so I couldn’t finish it. Based on my experience today, we must not leave it so late in future; you risk yellow and red flag ruining your chances and I don’t want to be this far back again.
“The race didn’t turn out as I hoped. In the first few laps I gathered some momentum, but it didn’t last for long and for most of the race I struggled for pace. I’m just looking forward to a fresh start tomorrow; another qualifying session and another race. We will be working extremely hard tonight to improve from here.”
British F3 champion and Monaco race winner Daniel Ricciardo will see his season in Formula Renault 3.5 continue this weekend, with rounds six and seven at the Brno circuit in the Czech Republic. The 20 year-old Perth born racer, who took a stunning victory in the principality of Monaco three weeks ago, is currently second in the drivers’ championship.
The Brno circuit, located a few hours from the Austrian and Slovakian borders in the far South Eastern corner of the Czech Republic is a new venue for the Formula Renault 3.5 cars. The 3.3 mile circuit, which is now used primarily for motorcycle races, will be a new experience for all but a few of the FR3.5 drivers. Daniel, having competed previously in British F3 and Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup will make his first visit to the circuit this weekend.
Having taken three podiums already this season, including a stunning maiden victory in Monaco, Daniel is not only the top rookie in the championship, but it also a strong title favourite after an impressive start to the season.
Speaking about the weekend ahead, Daniel said, “We had a fantastic race in Monaco, to win such a high profile event was an amazing experience. Now I’ve got my first win under my belt I want to continue where we left off and be a regular front runner. Podiums in both races needs to be the aim and of course aiming for another victory. It’s going to be really exciting racing on a new track and I can’t wait to get my first taste of the circuit on Friday.”
Daniel Ricciardo took a stunning victory in Monaco today, in front of packed grandstands and the F1 fraternity. Racing in front of the Red Bull and Toro Rosso F1 teams to whom he is reserve driver, the Perth born racer took a flawless lights to flag victory to take his first win in the Formula Renault 3.5 championship.
Having struggled in previous races to capitalise on his front row start, Daniel made the perfect getaway as the lights went out this morning in Monaco. Second placed man Mikhail Aleshin ran alongside the Australian into the first corner, but Daniel held his place and maintained his position over the first lap. By lap two, Daniel had already pulled out a comfortable gap and as the race settled into a rhythm, the young Australian was three seconds in front of his nearest competitor.
As the race progressed, Daniel continued to dominate from the front, but after a flying first half of the race, started to suffer from tyre wear in the closing stages. That allowed Aleshin to close up on Daniel, but he never looked too much under threat and kept a cool head to maintain the lead. At full race distance, Daniel was 0.8 seconds ahead and crossed the line to take his first Formula Renault 3.5 victory and a win at one of the most prestigious race circuits in the world.
Monaco race winner Daniel said, “To be honest I can’t believe it! This has to be the best race win of my career. For once, I made a good start in a FR3.5 car! After the start I wanted to build up a gap from [Mikhail] Aleshin and I managed to pull out a few seconds on him over the first few laps. I think I might have over-used the tyres a bit though, as they started to fade in the final stages and Aleshin managed to close up on me again. But thankfully it never got too close and I was able to cross the line fairly comfortably. Its going to take a while to get over this, I’m so happy!”
Taking his victory in Monaco just an hour before preparations for the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix got underway, Daniel has added one of the most high profile victories to his already impressive CV. As a Monaco race winner, Daniel will join Prince Albert II of Monaco, the winner of the Formula 1 Grand Prix and other guests at a glittering awards dinner this evening in Monte Carlo.
Daniel Ricciardo took a stunning pole position in Monaco this morning on his first visit to the most glamorous race circuit in the world. The 20 year-old racer put in a flawless performance in front of the F1 fraternity to snatch Formula Renault 3.5 pole in the dying minutes of qualifying on Saturday morning.
With traffic always an issue around the tight and twisting Monaco streets, the Formula Renault 3.5 drivers were split into two groups for this morning’s qualifying session. With team mate Brendon Hartley in group A, Daniel benefited from a place in group B, which would take to the track second.
With the first 12 cars in group A already having set their best times, the target had been set for Daniel, with Mikhail Aleshin taking provisional pole in the first session. Taking to the track in his Tech 1 car, Daniel looked threatening from the start, the Perth born racer was consistently among the front runners. A red flag halted proceedings with four minutes remaining, but once the session recommenced Daniel seized the moment and put in a stunning lap to claim pole on his Monaco debut.
A delighted Daniel said, “This has to be the best pole position I have ever taken. It’s going to take a while to come down from this I think! We had a really good car and the team were on the radio to me saying if I had a clear lap I had the pace to take pole. Thankfully I had some space at the end of the session and was able to get a couple of laps in. Its going to be difficult tomorrow and there’s a lot that can happen during the race, but to be honest, I just want to enjoy this moment and make the most of being on pole position in Monaco!”
Daniel will have to wait until 11.10 local time tomorrow to take his position at the front of the grid in Monaco. The Formula Renault 3.5 drivers will race just before the Formula 1 Grand Prix takes place tomorrow afternoon.
Daniel Ricciardo made his debut in the glittering principality of Monaco this morning as free practice got underway for round three of the Formula Renault 3.5 season. The Red Bull junior was eighth fastest at the end of this morning’s 45 minute session and avoided contact with the barriers despite it being his first visit to the 2.07 mile street circuit.
In a session littered with stranded cars and yellow flags, Daniel kept his Tech 1 car on track and near the top of the timesheets throughout. As the session drew to a close, Daniel was well within the top ten runners as the eighth fastest man on track.
With the Formula Renault 3.5 Series supporting the Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix this weekend, running is limited for the FR3.5 drivers. With this morning’s practice session completed successfully, Daniel will have no further on-track preparations before qualifying on Saturday morning.
Speaking about his first experience of the world’s most famous street circuit, Daniel said, “The track is awesome! It’s fantastic, but there is absolutely no margin for error. I’m pleased with the first session, but we need to keep working hard in order to move up the order for qualifying. There were lots of yellow flags this morning which made it difficult at times to put in a flying lap, but I’m not too worried and I’m feeling confident for qualifying on Saturday.”
Racing in front of the F1 teams, Daniel follows in the footsteps of Red Bull drivers Sebastian Vettel and Jaime Alguersuari who both raced in Formula Renault 3.5 in 2007 and 2009 respectively. As a support series to Formula 1, the Formula Renault 3.5 drivers will compete in just one race this weekend, which will take place on Sunday morning. The one and only qualifying session of the weekend will take place at 0900 local time on Saturday.
Daniel Ricciardo concluded an eventful weekend at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend, with a strong fifth place finish in race two, despite car issues and a drive-through penalty in a rain sodden race in the Ardenne Mountains.
Taking to the track for the second qualifying session of the weekend, Daniel was typically on the pace and despite the wet session coming to an early conclusion with six minutes still on the clock, had qualified his Tech 1 car in third place.
Conditions improved in the afternoon in time for race two, with the cars heading to the track on slick tyres. Lining up on row two of the grid, Ricciardo was in a good position to claim his third podium finish of the season when a sudden and torrential rain storm suddenly besieged the track. As the cars around him made a late change to wet tyres, the Tech 1 team made the decision to change both Daniel and his team mate Brendon Hartley onto grooved rubber. However, so severe was the weather, that race officials were forced to delay the start by 10 minutes.
When the race did finally get underway, it was behind the safety car, taking away the possibility of any advantage off the line for the young Australian. Daniel had to wait until lap three for the safety car to return to the pits and racing to get underway and immediately made a move on Daniel Zampieri to take second place.
From there, Daniel began to real in race leader Jake Rosenzweig until the race was thrown into chaos on lap seven when 10 of the leading cars, including Daniel, were handed drive-through penalties. Deemed to have changed tyres on the grid past the permissible five minute mark, Daniel was forced to take a costly drive-through penalty in addition to the customary and mandatory pit stop.
Despite the dramas, Daniel kept a cool head to cross the line in fifth place and leaves Belgium in an impressive second place in the drivers’ standings.
Daniel will return to the track in two weeks time as the Formula Renault 3.5 drivers head to the glamorous principality of Monte Carlo for the third round of the season.
After a flying start to the Formula Renault 3.5 season two weeks ago, Australian racer Daniel Ricciardo saw his luck change today as he competed in round two of the season at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. An accident in qualifying meant a grid place of 23rd for race one this morning and from there the Red Bull Junior improved to cross the line in 13th place.
Displaying the pace that saw him claim two podium positions in Spain a fortnight ago, Daniel was again amongst the front runners in collective testing yesterday but while pushing hard in the early stages of qualifying this morning, the Red Bull junior went off track and was left stranded in the gravel. Unable to rejoin the track, Daniel was forced to sit out the session and consequently lined up at the back of the grid in 23rd place for the first race of the weekend earlier today.
Daniel was clearly quicker than his grid position suggested however, as he made a lightning start and stormed up to 17th place by the end of lap 2. By lap 11, he was up to 15th place and by lap 16 had moved up to 14th place. The F1 reserve driver moved up one further place on lap 17 when team mate Brendon Hartley retired with a mechanic problem and went on to cross the line in 13th place.
Reflecting on his day, Daniel said, “I was really annoyed with myself this morning. We had a really quick car for qualifying, but on my first flying lap I locked a wheel and went off into the gravel. It’s very frustrating as we really weren’t able to show our potential.
“During the race, the car didn’t feel quite right, so the team are looking into that this evening. It wasn’t a particularly great race to be honest, I made up some places but unfortunately didn’t manage to get into the top ten. Brendon, my team mate had really good pace and was challenging for the lead, which I think shows we have a quick car. I’m looking forward to a fresh day tomorrow, we have another qualifying session and race and we know we have a quick package, so there’s reason to be confident.”
Championship leader Daniel Ricciardo was back in action today, as round two of the Formula Renault 3.5 season got underway at the historic Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. The 20 year-old racer was on the pace from the outset and went on to finish today’s collective testing third quickest.
The twisting 4.3 mile Spa-Francorchamps circuit is one of the most challenging and famous in Europe and is also the home to the Belgian Grand Prix. As one of the longest circuits in the world, it’s quite common for part of the track to be dry and part wet, as was the case today. Rain over the back section of the circuit caused slippery conditions in both the morning and afternoon sessions, but wasn’t enough to force the drivers to change to wet tyres.
Ricciardo dealt well with the changing conditions as he worked on perfecting the set up of his FR3.5 car with his Tech 1 team. Having left the first race of the season with two podium finishes under his belt, Daniel was clearly still on the pace as testing got underway in Belgium. The Perth born racer was fifth fastest in first practice this morning and improved further in the afternoon to finish the day third quickest.
Reflecting on collective practice, Daniel said, “I’m looking forward to the races this weekend, Spa is a great circuit and its one that suits my driving style. I’ve had some good results here in the past, including a win in F3 last year. I think the weather will be a big factor. We were fortunate today to get two sessions that were pretty much dry, but the forecast for the rest of the weekend is for rain.
“To finish the day third quickest is ok, but I don’t feel we really fulfilled our potential, I think we need a bit more to be able to take pole and win, but we are working through things. Both the team and myself are capable of being quicker, so we’re working hard to make improvements before tomorrow morning’s qualifying session.”
The grid for the first race of the weekend will be set by a 30 minute qualifying session at 10.00 local time tomorrow (Saturday), with race one taking place at 14.00.
Daniel Ricciardo took an early lead in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series today, following his second podium of the weekend at the Motorland Circuit in Aragon, Spain. Daniel took a stunning pole position this morning – his second of the weekend – before taking second place and the championship lead ahead of round two of the season in Spa-Francorchamps.
With qualifying this morning once again proving to be a wet affair, Daniel was aiming to put his Tech 1 car near the front of the grid. In an extremely competitive session several drivers were in contention for the top spot with the final moments of the session seeing a flurry of activity as the circuit began to dry. Making the most of his final flying lap, Daniel set the quickest time as the session ended, taking his second consecutive pole position of the weekend.
As the conditions finally improved for race two, Daniel lined up at the front on the grid. The 20 year-old Australian made a good start but was out dragged to the first corner by the cars of Jan Charouz and Stan Pentus. Keeping close to his rivals, Daniel and the two leaders broke away from the rest of the field, building up a healthy gap. Daniel continued to pile the pressure on Pentus and was close to the second placed man before making his mandatory pit stop.
Rejoining the race following a tyre change, Ricciardo was still third, while Pentus had leapfrogged into first place, leaving Ricciardo to chase down Charouz. From then on the race proceeded without event for the front runners, with Daniel crossing the line in a competitive third place. However, a strict scrutineering process which is applied to all front running cars following each race, the car of second placed man Charouz was found to be underweight – leading to his exclusion and the elevation to second place for Daniel.
Reflecting on his first race weekend of the season, Daniel said, “It was a good weekend for championship points, but it could have been better. I think we showed that we have good pace following two pole positions, but I need to work on my starts and capitalise on my grid positions. All in all it was a solid weekend, and I look forward to building on this in two weeks when we race at Spa.”
The second race of the season will take place at the historic Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium from 31st April – 2 May.
Daniel Ricciardo took a well earned third place at the Motorland Circuit in Spain today, as he battled through treacherous conditions to take his first podium in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series. The Perth born racer confirmed his early pace in testing to take pole position early this morning, but was caught out by the soaking track early on in the race and came home in third place.
Taking part in this morning’s qualifying session, Daniel was faced with a wet circuit following rain overnight. The 20 year-old Australian was clearly unflustered however, proving his speed in both wet and dry conditions to take a impressive pole position for the first race of the season.
Conditions deteriorated further by the time the FR3.5 driver came to line up for the first race this afternoon, with Daniel taking the top spot on the grid. As the lights went out, Daniel lost out to second placed man Mikhail Aleshin, but determined to fight back was soon on the leader’s tail. Closing in on the first place man on lap three, Daniel was looking for a way through, but was caught out by the wet conditions and ran wide. Recovering from his error quickly, Daniel returned to the track in third place.
A safety car period from lap five to eight bunched up the field, but that just created further visibility problems for the drivers. At the restart Daniel closed up on second placed man Daniel Zampieri, but couldn’t quite make a safe move stick.
As the race continued, so did the rain, with conditions on track becoming more and more difficult. Several accidents ended the races of other drivers with just 10 of the 24 cars managing to finish the race. With a constant risk of aquaplaning and poor visibility, Daniel had little chance to make up positions and had to be satisfied with third place as the race drew to a close.
Reflecting on the first race of the season Daniel said, “Considering the conditions today, I’m reasonably happy to walk away from the first race of the season with a podium. The conditions on track were just awful and I don’t think the race could have continued for much longer. There was no visibility at all, I couldn’t even see the car in front of me, let alone pass him! It is good to get some solid points on the board. I’m aiming to go two better tomorrow!”
Qualifying for race two will take place at 09.15 Spanish time tomorrow, with race two at 14.00.
Daniel Ricciardo set the pace at the Motorland Circuit in Aragon, Spain today during practice ahead of the first Formula Renault 3.5 race of the season. The 20 year-old racer was second quickest in the morning, only to go two tenths faster in the afternoon and set the quickest time of the day.
Daniel’s pace was all the more impressive considering the Red Bull Junior driver missed the last collective test at Motorland due to his commitments as reserve driver for the Red Bull and Toro Rosso F1 teams. While his fellow FR3.5 drivers were testing at Motorland last month, Daniel was busy with F1 duties at the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.
His lack of time behind the wheel appeared to have no effect today however, as the young Australian set the quickest time of any rookie and the second fastest time overall in this morning’s test session. Having tweaked the set up on his FR3.5 car this afternoon, Daniel improved by a further two tenths of a second to claim his place at the top of the timesheets.
Reflecting on his day of testing, Daniel said, “Today wasn’t necessarily about setting the fastest lap; it was about getting the best set up on the car and gaining confidence after missing some of the pre-season tests. The car feels great, it feels very well balanced and I’m very happy with our low downforce set up, which we have to run in qualifying and the race tomorrow. I pleased with the work we’ve done as I feel confident ahead of qualifying tomorrow and to finish the day quickest was an unexpected bonus.”
Daniel will take to the track for qualifying tomorrow at 9.45 Spanish local time.
Perth born racer Daniel Ricciardo starts his 2010 racing campaign this weekend, as the Formula Renault 3.5 season kicks off at the Motorland circuit in Spain. The 2009 British F3 champion is already considered one of the favourites based on his impressive form in pre-season testing.
Daniel is the latest member of the Red Bull Junior team to race in Formula Renault 3.5 (FR3.5). The Australian follows in the footsteps of Sebastian Vettel and Jaime Alguersuari who both made the jump to Formula One directly from FR3.5.
Daniel makes a happy return to the World Series by Renault package, which he raced in during the 2008 season in Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup. Now returning to World Series as British F3 champion, Ricciardo makes the step up to the headline category; Formula Renault 3.5.
One of 24 drivers in this year’s FR3.5 field, Daniel will be racing alongside fellow Australasian and Red Bull Junior driver Brendon Hartley at the Tech 1 Racing team, which won the championship in 2007. The Motorland race is the first of nine events this season, including the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix, which the FR3.5 Series will support next month.
Speaking on his arrival at the Motorland track this afternoon, Daniel said, “I’m really excited about the first race. I’m not sure what to expect - the first race of any season is always a bit of an unknown but it’s exciting for sure. I’ve not done a great deal of testing here at Motorland, as I missed the last test while I was at the Australian Grand Prix, but I know Brendon had a good test and the team have a competitive car. We won’t really know our true pace until qualifying on Saturday, but I’m feeling confident.”
Daniel will take part in practice on Friday, before the first qualifying session on Saturday morning, which will set the grid for race one on Saturday afternoon. A second qualifying session on Sunday morning will set the grid for race two on Sunday afternoon, which will also feature a mandatory pit stop.
It’s really exciting. I’m not completely sure what to expect, but I’m sure its going to be very busy. With it being effectively a home race for me, I’ve had quite a bit of interest from the Australian media, so I think I’ll be fairly busy even though I won’t be in the car. It’s going to be great to be able to see the team in action close up, and see the pressures the team is under during a race weekend. Plus its nice to be back in Australia and to some nice weather for a change!
It’s going to be busy and it will be important to stay on top of it all and stay focused. But it’s important to be able to cope with the pressure and the number of events to prepare you for a possible future in F1.
It’s been pretty successful really. We had a good two days in Barcelona – although the weather was bad it was still really productive for us. We had a really good day at Magny Cours this week as well. The team has a good mentality towards testing, they’re not necessarily interested in setting the fastest time; they use me and Brendon to test all different kinds of set up changes.
Yeah, I think it’s a great championship. Renault has put together a really good programme. The cars teach you a lot, the championship is well organised with a good structure and a great atmosphere at the events. You always know that it will be consistent in terms of rules and regulations as well so it’s always fair.
Formula Renault 3.5 is good preparation for F1 – should that be in my future. Sebastian Vettel did well in the series and adapted well to F1 afterwards, so I think that convinced Red Bull it was a good series to be involved in.
I’ve still got a lot to learn about this car though. We’ve been quick in some sessions, but consistency is the key and I’m using the team’s knowledge to try and fast track to the front.
Well obviously it’s fantastic to have Red Bull’s support. It’s great to be involved in the F1 project and it’s another step up in responsibility this year, and I’m thankful for that extra responsibility. I’ve been really busy completing simulator work for the team this year – it means long days on a regular basis – so it’s important to manage my time well. When Brendon [Hartley] and I aren’t on the simulator we need to make sure we have a productive day off. It’s important to train hard whenever we have the opportunity. The more we have to do, the higher the quality of work has to be. Every day has to count.
No, we get on really well. We spend a lot of time together as we live close by and we usually train together. As we’re both competing in Formula Renault 3.5 we tend to travel together a bit as well. It’s good to have some company; we’re both from the same part of the world, both a long way from home so I think we’re able to relate to each other pretty well. When the racing starts for sure we’re going to be very competitive with each other, but we’ve got a lot of respect for each other as well.
Well I’d like to think that I can win the championship, but a lot could happen between now and the end of the season. Testing has been encouraging but I’m still a rookie in the series and there are some strong drivers to beat – not least my team mate. I’m just going to take it race by race and try and get the best possible result every time. I’m not going to start thinking about the championship title this early on!
British F3 champion Daniel Ricciardo has been forced to sit out this weekend’s official Formula Renault 3.5 test at Jerez due a hand injury. The 20 year-old Australian racer injured his right hand in a training accident earlier this week and is sitting out the second official test of the season at the Spanish circuit.
“It’s really unfortunate and frustrating to be sitting here in Jerez unable to test the car” said Daniel speaking about his hand injury. “In a way it’s fortunate that it didn’t happen in the middle of the year when it could have seriously compromised my season, so I suppose it could have been worse. I’m confident that it will be better in time for the next test.”
Daniel aims to be back in the car for an unofficial test at the Magny Cours circuit in France on the 22nd March. A final official test at the Motorland Circuit in Spain on 26 – 27 March will take place before the first race of the season there from 17 – 18 April.
Daniel Ricciardo was on the pace as Formula Renault 3.5 testing got underway this week, with a strong performance at the Circuit de Catalunya circuit in Barcelona. The Perth born racer was amongst the front runners in every session to set the second fastest time overall.
Taking part in his first official test since dominating the F1 Young driver tests in December, Ricciardo made a strong start with his Tech 1 team in Barcelona. As the teams took to the track wet conditions called for grooved tyres, but as the test continued a dry line allowed for a change to slicks. By the end of the morning session Ricciardo lay in an encouraging 10th place.
Dry conditions on Thursday afternoon provided ideal conditions with the majority of drivers switching to new rubber early on. A hot lap put Ricciardo top of the time sheets part way through the afternoon. Returning to the track in the final part of the session Ricciardo was pushing hard and despite several red flag had moved up to 3rd by the end of the day.
Following torrential rain which severely disrupted the running on Friday morning, the track finally began to dry out as the times dropped. Ricciardo demonstrated promising pace as conditions improved, posting the quickest time of the two day test. Ricciardo’s time was unbeaten for the majority of the afternoon, until a final flurry of activity saw Ricciardo relegated to second quickest.
Reflecting on the first official test of the season, Ricciardo said, “We had a really promising test. We tried many different things with the car set up on the second day of testing which have provided a really good base to work on at the next test. I’m still learning about the Formula Renault 3.5 cars but I’m feeling more comfortable with ever session. I’m really pleased with our progress.”
British F3 champion Daniel Ricciardo has been appointed official reserve driver for both Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso F1 teams in 2010. The 20 year-old Perth born racer will share the duties on a race-by-race basis with fellow Red Bull junior team member Brendon Hartley.
The appointment to the position of reserve driver is the latest accolade for the young Australian racer who impressed the F1 fraternity during the F1 Young Driver tests at the end of last year. Daniel was the only driver to be granted three full days behind the wheel and finished the test as the quickest driver by a sizeable margin.
Daniel has made a name for himself racing in Europe, having been made a Red Bull Junior at the end of 2007. In 2008 Daniel moved to the intensely competitive Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup where he led the championship for the majority of the season, only to lose out on the title by just three points. A move up to British Formula 3 in 2009 saw Daniel rise to the top again, with a dominating performance that saw him take the title at the penultimate round.
Speaking about his new appointment as reserve driver, Daniel said, “It’s so exciting and a real honour to be asked to take up this role in 2010. I’ve been hoping since the F1 test in December to get this news, so I’m absolutely delighted.
“It’s going to be a busy year with my commitments in Formula Renault 3.5 and now with the reserve driver role, but it’s a fantastic opportunity to spend time with the race drivers and get a real insight into F1.”
Daniel, it’s been a busy time since the last F3 race. It must seem like a long time ago now! Have you had a chance to have much time off?
To be honest since the British season finished I’ve been twice as busy. With Macau and the F1 test been thrown in there it was a busy month for me but one of the most enjoyable ones I’ve ever had.
What was it like to get your hands on the trophy at the Awards Presentation the other night?
It was the biggest trophy I’ve ever received! A great feeling to have it in my hands and that’s when I knew that all the hard work myself and the team put in this year had paid off.
The Macau Grand Prix didn’t quite go as planned. How was the race meeting for you generally?
The whole week and build up in Macau was great and despite the final result, I was very pleased with how it went and I showed great potential in my first year there and it seemed to have impressed a lot of people in the paddock. The race was one of those things and it’s what you get when that amount of cars are trying to get through a corner. But I know that I was in the wrong place and should have tried to get to the inside. Just some inexperience from myself in that situation but I will learn from it. All in all a great weekend though and I really would love to be back next year.
What is the Formula Renault 3.5 like to drive compared to the F3 car?
Firstly it’s a much bigger car in size. This makes it physically more difficult. The power is greater as well so it’s a bit more difficult to drive around the tighter circuits. When I tested the 3.5 in Barcelona I really enjoyed it and this type of circuit worked very well with the car and I will have a great time driving it throughout next year.
How did you find the Red Bull F1 car to drive? What’s the hardest thing to get used to compared to other racing cars?
It was an absolute blast. The car is a wild thing but at the same time it does everything you want it to. The hardest thing was adjusting your vision and brain to register information at that sort of speed. Everything comes at you so fast it’s like nothing the body has ever experienced so it’s a big shock to the system. And to top that off there are about 50 different settings on the steering wheel which the engineers want you to adjust while driving at these speeds. This was difficult but after the first day I got my head around it and the following two days flowed much better.
Has it whetted your appetite for more F1 drives now?
Indeed! The three days were just a taste and I want more now. I am talking with Red Bull F1 and hopefully we can come to a decision over Christmas for a test drive position next year. This would be a great start.
The Formula Renault 3.5 cars will be racing at the Monaco Grand Prix in 2010. You must be looking forward to that experience?
Monaco is one of those places that you admire and as a race its one every driver wants to do. I am looking forward to going there and hopefully I can show some more street circuit potential. It will be a big event and just to race in front of that crowd will be a sweet deal.
What’s your programme for the ‘off season’ now? Where will you be spending Christmas?
I returned home to Perth yesterday so this is where I’ll be spending Christmas, with my family and friends who I've missed a lot this year. Just going to have some time away from racing and enjoy summer and the god things that come with it. It’s nice to put your feet up at the end of the season. I think it’s important to switch off the mind for a bit otherwise you go crazy always thinking about your job. It’s the way I see it and it works for me :)
Any last messages for the year?
"I would like to thank everyone who has supported me and followed my progress through 2009 - it's been a fantastic year all round and a great step up the ladder towards my goal of Formula 1. I want to wish everyone a merry Christmas and a happy New Year where ever you are. Roll on 2010!”
For the past three days Red Bull Junior Team driver and 2009 British International F3 Championship winner Daniel Ricciardo has been putting in some impressive times at the Jerez circuit in Spain in the “Young Driver Test” where 9 of the current Formula 1 teams are trying out the F1 stars of tomorrow.
Day 1 saw Daniel complete 113 laps in the Red Bull RB5-02 (the most of any driver on the day) with a best time of 1:19.534, forth fastest overall behind Formula 2 championship winner Andy Soucek in a Williams (1:19.158).
The day didn’t start as well as it could have, as Ricciardo had a spin on cold tyres and ended up in a gravel trap, neatly avoiding the damaged Toro Rosso of New Zealander Brendon Hartley who had collected the wall and damaged his car. Once that was sorted out, he settled down to some regular running, building up speed and confidence in the Red Bull RB05.
Daniel: ”I don’t think I stopped smiling all day,” he said after the session was over. “Working with the team was great and they let me go at my own pace until I built up some confidence. After that, we began working on things that will be useful for next season. This was the first time I’ve ever driven a Formula One car round corners, having previously only done a straight line test and I have to say, it’s got more grip than anything else I’ve ever driven.”
Dealing with the physical aspects of driving an F1 car is a big part of the challenge and Daniel came through day 1 with flying (Red Bull) colours!
After the first day Daniel did a Q&A session with reporters. Here is a link to the Autosport story by Jamie O’Leary with more details: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80399
Day 2 of the test was interrupted by light rain in mid afternoon which slowed times down somewhat. Daniel only ran 92 laps (!) for a best time of 1:19.243 which ended up third quickest for the day behind German Touring Car Championship driver Gary Paffett in a McLaren on 1:18.718, set just before the rain fell and knocking Daniel off the top of the timing sheets for the first time for the day. Nico Hulkenburg was second fastest in a Williams, less than .1 of a second ahead of Ricciardo in the Red Bull RB05.
Daniel’s Day 2 programme consisted mainly of continuing the learning process of driving the car and getting used to all the systems that are unique to F1 cars. He also conducted various tests on aero and braking items and ran with the car in ‘heavy’ configuration to simulate running for 2010 when refueling will be banned and the cars have to start a Grand Prix with 155kg of fuel on board.
“I found it a bit easier today,” said Daniel. “I knew what to expect this morning and the procedures were easier to understand, so I was able to concentrate on improving my driving and hopefully give my best in terms of providing the engineers with good feedback.”
Red Bull F1 team boss Christian Horner was on hand to witness Daniel’s performance and explained what the team was looking for over the three days of the test: “One of the reasons we’ve elected to run the same driver for three days is because some our work at this test is focused on next year, so it’s good to have continuity. Rather than chopping and changing we wanted to run the same driver over three days to have a consistency of feedback. It’s the only test between now and next February which makes it very, very important.”
Horner was also very positive about Daniel’s performance for the team: “He’s had a very good first day: his times were competitive, his feedback was good and he had a good level of fitness, so it’s a good start into a Formula One career. And this is more than about just speed. It’s about being a complete package. Speed; fitness; feedback; intelligence; feel. They’re all factors and they’re all part of what we’re evaluating.”
Day 3 – the final day of the “Young Drivers” test saw Daniel complete 77 laps and blitzed the field with a fastest time of 1:17.418, over 1.3 seconds faster than the next driver! His final part of the test was curtailed however when a large cloud of smoke issued from the back of the car, bringing his running to a halt.
Daniel: "I had an amazing time over the three days spent in the F1 car and it was a pleasure for me each time I left the pits. Day 3 was special and I got the chance to get the real potential out of the car and myself with a 'qualification run' on low fuel and super soft tyres. I thought the grip was impressive over the last two days but this was something else. The corner speeds and braking deceleration I was experiencing in the car was something I have never come close to experiencing before. I loved it and did a respectable job. It’s where I want to be in the near future. "
2010 will see Daniel racing for the Tech1 team in Formula Renault 3.5 alongside Kiwi Brendan Hartley and hopefully acting as the Test and Reserve driver for the Red Bull F1 team.
The Formula Renault 3.5 series is for Dallara built carbon-fibre chassis powered by a competition prepared version of the Nissan VQ35 3.5l V6 engine that produces 425hp in a car that weighs only 600 kg. The Championship will consist of 9 races throughout Europe, with a special bonus of the cars competing as a support race at the Monaco Grand Prix!
Daniel is now back home in Australia taking a well earned break and catching up with family and friends and looking forward to enjoying a warm Christmas!
"I would like to thank everyone who has supported me and followed my progress through 2009 - it's been a fantastic year all round and a great step up the ladder towards my goal of Formula 1. I want to wish everyone a merry Christmas and a happy New Year where ever you are!"
The latest running of the famous Macau Grand Prix for Formula 3 cars unfortunately didn't see a flying result for the Red Bull Junior Team driver Daniel Ricciardo and his Carlin Motorsport VW powered Dallara.
After a stunning debut effort on the tricky 3.8 mile (6.2km) Guia street circuit, Ricciardo lined up in 5th place for the qualification race after making it as high as 2nd earlier in the session, behind Marcus Ericsson in the TOMS Toyota powered Dallara. A brush with the barriers at the Lisboa corner stopped him from improving his lap time.
The running of the Qualification race on Saturday was interrupted by yellow flags due to various incidents, but Daniel kept his nose clean to finish up 6th overall as the race finished behind the safety car
Sunday saw the main running of the Macau Grand Prix over a total of 15 laps.
After a strong start, he was pushed wide and brushed the tyre barrier, which damaged one of his tyres, causing him to go off at the next corner.
Daniel: "I had a good start, I was already up to P4, P5, when I was pushed wide. As a result, I touched the tyre barriers, which damaged one of my tyres. One turn later, I lost the car and crashed because of it. I'm very disappointed, of course. Then again I'm very pleased about the whole experience - furthermore I always was among the front runners in the practice sessions."
The race was won by Italian GP2 driver Edoardo Mortara in another VW powered F3 Dallara from third on the grid after a race-long battle with his team mate Jean-Karl Vernay.
Daniel is now returning to Europe to get ready for his long awaited test with the Red Bull Formula 1 Team at the Jerez circuit on the 1st to the 3rd of December.
This weekend sees the 56th running of one of the premier events in the world Formula 3 calendar, the Macau Grand Prix.
Held each year on the Guia street circuit in the formerly Portuguese enclave of Macau on the coast of China, the Macau Grand Prix has a long history of spectacular racing action and has seen some of the most famous names in the sport take part.
Past winners have included Michael Schumacher, David Coulthard, Ayrton Senna and David Brabham. Sixteen of the drivers in the 2009 Formula 1 World Championship have also competed in the Macau Grand Prix in the past. It is truly a jewel in the crown of the Formula 3 category across the world.
The Guia street circuit is a tricky 3.8 mile (6.2km) combination of narrow and windy roads through the hilly section of the town, followed by a flat out blast along the harbor front.
Of course the 2009 British International Formula 3 Series Champion, Daniel Ricciardo wanted to take part and in the first qualifying session held on Thursday, he put in an impressive time to end up provisionally second on the grid in his Red Bull Carlin Motorsport VW-Dallara, less than 0.04 of a second behind Marcus Ericsson in a TOMS Toyota powered Dallara. The TOMS team has won the past two Macau GPs and are recognised as the people to beat at Macau, so to be so close to them in initial running is impressive!
Daniel ”We’re really happy with the way the day has gone. We’ve surpassed our expectations for the weekend on the first day!”
There is further practice and qualifying to be held on Friday, with an extra qualification race on Saturday for those who don’t make it through to the initial grid on lap times. Sunday afternoon sees the running of the 15 lap Macau Grand Prix.
In other news, Daniel has been busy since the last race the British Formula 3 Series back in September. In recent times he has been testing a Formula Renault 3.5 car at the Barcelona Circuit in Spain and topped the times in the Tech 1 Racing car, over half a second quicker than his nearest rival!
The other important news is that the Red Bull Formula 1 Team has confirmed that Daniel will be taking part in their official test at the Jerez circuit on the 1st to the 3rd of December.
Daniel “I had suspected a possible run in the F1 car before Christmas, so since the F3 season finished I have been amping up my training program and adding in more strength and neck related exercises. I have been busy in and out of the Red Bull F1 factory making a seat and spending time on the simulator, so everyone is working hard to make the test as best as it can possibly be for me. I am ecstatic to finally have a go in one of these works of art. It’s been a dream of mine since I was a boy and I can’t quite believe I'm going to fulfil it in a few weeks time. And for it to be with the strongest finishing team of the season makes it even more special. Red Bull have been very supportive and are giving me good encouragement and laying out the foundations for me so that I’m not going to feel under any serious pressure. I’m going to have as much fun as I can and I hope I can be going fast at the same time.”
Daniel, It’s been a big year for you, with your greatest result since you started climbing the ladder of world motorsport. Thanks for taking time out to talk to us.
How does it feel to be 2009 British International Formula 3 Champion? Has it sunk in yet? Have the parties started? It feels bloody awesome. It did take all night to sink in but now it definitely feels real and I am very satisfied. The first thing was probably relief because I had put so much pressure on myself from the start of the season to win the title. The moment I was told this is where I would be for this year, my sights were set on the championship. Nothing less. Red Bull's expectations were for me to win also, end of story. We celebrated a little on Sunday night after the finale but to be honest I was back in the gym on Monday preparing for whatever Red Bull will put ahead of me next.
What do you think was your main advantage over the season? I learnt a lot from last season and being in a similar situation of fighting for a championship. When things were going well I made the most of it and capitalised. When things were down and not going to plan, we salvaged as much as we could as a team and moved on immediately..... And of course I had to drive faster than anybody else!
Which races did you enjoy the most? I really enjoyed round two at Silverstone where I hunted my teammate for the majority of the race, until he cracked and I made the winning move. My victory at Brands Hatch was also very satisfying. It was my most commanding performance of the season. Everything gelled and I was in the zone just wanting to go faster and faster.
How much did the competition between VW and Mercedes-Benz help you? I think we were the underdogs coming into the season with the VW engines. Mercedes has dominated for many years and some people saw it as a risky move by my team. VW were very committed from the beginning and my engine never let me down. Our relationship grew stronger as the season progressed and in the end it was a winning combination.
All your family and friends back in Australia must be really happy for you. When will you be back in Perth to catch up with them? The support I’ve had from all my mates back home and family has been amazing. The amount of phone calls, texts, emails I received was unreal... I’m lucky to have friends and family like these and I hope come December I will be back home celebrating with them all.
The Carlin Motorsport Team and Red Bull must be really pleased too. Any feedback from them so far? Carlin were overjoyed to retain the title and see me pull it off with a round left in hand. The team was very supportive of my victory and the atmosphere amongst us was great. Red Bull were also very pleased. And relieved. They always want to keep me on my toes so they don’t show too much emotion but I’m sure they were just as happy as me.
It must have been great to get extra support from previous Aussie F3 Champion David Brabham at Brands Hatch. Do things like that help? It was really nice to see David there at the circuit and he gave me some words of advice before the race which does give me a boost. For him to come out and support us young guys is a great thing. 20 years ago this was him in my position so he is someone I can relate to quite well.
What are your plans for the rest of the year? Are you racing at Macau in November? As for the rest of the year I will be doing testing in preparation for next season and I will also take part in the famous end of year race at Macau. It shall be an amazing experience. Every driver who has raced there describes it as the best place on earth for a Formula 3 car.
Any news for your possible F1 test later this year and where you might be in 2010? No news as yet. I’m sort of expecting to get the F1 test at the end of the year now that I have won the championship, but I won’t get too excited until I get confirmation. As for next year I haven’t been told my plans yet.
Anyone you want to send a special thanks or message to? Just everyone who has supported me along the way and shown interest. I love the support back home and this is very meaningful to me. I would love to thank all my sponsors back home in Perth. Aroma Cafe, Sunseeker Australia, Northside Rentals, United Industries, Mt Magnet Drilling, Swanline Developments, Barbagallo, Buildwise, Silver Swan Group. They are real supporters and enthusiasts and I'm grateful to have these guys on board. And Red Bull of course! Let the journey continue...
Thanks for this special interview for your website and congratulations once again!
2009 Cooper Tires British International Formula 3 Series Champion, Daniel Ricciardo has completed a lap of honour at the final round of the Series at the Brands Hatch circuit south of London today.
There were two races held today at the historic Kent circuit, rounds 19 and 20 of the Series. Daniel started the weekend well, with fastest time in free practice on Friday, ending the day six-tenths of a second faster than his nearest rival, Daisuke Nakajima from Raikkonen Robertson Motorsport. His best time of 1.17.259 seconds was well inside the lap record set by last year’s champion and current Toro Rosso F1 driver, Jamie Alguersuari.
Saturday’s qualifying sessions were held in dry and overcast conditions and once again Ricciardo showed his excellent form by taking his fifth and sixth pole positions to head the field for both races. In the first session he finished ahead of Carlin Motorsport team mate Max Chilton by three-tenths of a second, clocking a best time of 1.17 207. It wasn’t quite on his target of a 1.16 time, but close!
In the second session (qualifying for Round 20 – the final race), Daniel once again topped the timesheets, closer again to the 1.16 target time with a best time of 1.17.151. Team mate Max Chilton was much closer, clocking a 1.17.196, with these two drivers being over 0.6 of a second ahead of the third placed car.
Ricciardo: "It was a quicker time than this morning, but still not as quick as I'd hoped. But I and Max have a good gap to the rest, so that's encouraging. My aim tomorrow is to end the season with two race wins. We'll be giving it a good go and we'll see what happens”
Sunday saw a record setting performance from Daniel in the VW powered Red Bull Dallara. On the way to a dominant win in the first race (round 19) he led from the lights to the flag, lowered the lap record twice along the way and set the biggest winning margin of the year!
Before the race Daniel was boosted by a visit from the last Australian winner of the British F3 Series, David Brabham who congratulated him on his success to date.
Ricciardo: "From the start I just got away and focused on my job and didn't have to worry once about what was going on behind me. Carlin prepared an amazing car which was suited just perfectly to the conditions, which made my job quite easy. David Brabham wished me all the best and congratulated me on the title win; it's great to see him here supporting us young kids."
Race 2 of the day (round 20 of the Series) produced another good result for Daniel’s Carlin Motorsport team, but unfortunately for Daniel it was a win for team mate Max Chilton, his second win of the year and the ninth for the Carlin team in 2009.
Daniel was caught out by the sloping grid at Brands Hatch and got too much wheel spin, which dropped him down to 4th place. Despite a safety car period, the main results were settled at the start and the front four of Chilton, Riki Christodoulou (Fortec Dallara Mercedes), Marcus Ericsson (Raikkonen Robertson Dallara Mercedes) and Daniel cleared away from the rest of the pack to finish in a group covered by less than four seconds and over 10 seconds clear of the next placed driver.
Daniel and his team finished the season in a dominant style, virtually matching the result from the opening round at Oulton Park back in April. The final scores saw him amass a total of 275 points, 87 points clear of his nearest rival, Walter Grubmüller, who faded in the last two rounds of the Championship as his chances faded. It was also a great debut result in the British Series for the VW engine, ending many years of Mercedes-Benz engine dominance.
Now we look ahead to the 2010 season for Daniel as he looks to fresh challenges on his way to the top of world motorsport!
Red Bull Junior Team driver Daniel Ricciardo has won the 2009 Cooper Tires British International Formula 3 Series!
There were two races held today at the new Portimao Circuit in the Algarve in Portugal – rounds 17 and 18 of the Championship.
Daniel finished round 17 in 3rd overall on the track to put one hand on the trophy. His main rival for the day, Dutchman Renger van der Zande led the race for 12 of the 16 laps, but fell victim to a deflating rear tyre and was pipped on the line by Ricciardo with a margin of only 0.009 seconds! First and second places were taken by two drivers from the French series, Jules Bianchi & Esteban Gutierrez who were not eligible for points. Ricciardo’s nearest title rival, Walter Grubmuller had a poor race and finished down in 12th position.
Round 18 was a more chaotic even for Daniel and his Carlin Motorsport team mate, Max Chilton. They started from the front row, but were jumped by Invitation class runner Sam Bird. Ricciardo then battled with Jules Bianchi, but following contact between his Red Bull VW powered car and the Mercedes powered Bianchi, Daniel’s front wing was damaged which slowed his pace. Daniel eventually crossed the line in 7th place on the road, but 4th in the Championship results, which leaves him with an unbeatable lead for the last event next week at Brands Hatch!
His team mate, Max Chilton eventually finished the race 3rd on the road and first of the British Series runners, giving him his debut ‘victory’ in the series and making it a great day all round for the Red Bull supported Carlin Motorsport team!
It’s been a stunning rookie season in the 2009 Cooper Tires British International Formula 3 Series for the 20 year old West Australian. He has led the Series since the first race back at Oulton Park in April. Daniel joins an exclusive group of Australian winners of the British F3 Series, Tim Schenken in 1968 and David Brabham in 1989, who coincidentally was the last British F3 winner to be Volkswagen powered. Red Bull Junior Team Driver Daniel Ricciardo has won the 2009 Cooper Tires British International Formula 3 Series!
Over the 2009 season Daniel has won 6 of the 18 races held and been on the podium 11 times. He now has an unassailable 63 point lead in the Series.
Daniel: “This is everything I've wanted since the start of the season and for it to come around a bit early makes it a bit sweeter. It still hasn't quite sunk in but I'm sure that by the end of tonight I'll realise it and party hard. If I can now follow in Jaime Alguersuari's footsteps that would be great - I'm not saying I'll be in F1 next year, but I'd like to be there in the near future. That's my dream.”
More details to follow when Daniel stops celebrating!
Red Bull Junior Team Driver Daniel Ricciardo could take out the 2009 Cooper Tires British International Formula 3 Series with strong results in this weekend’s races at the new Portimao Circuit in the Algarve in Portugal.
Following a four week summer break, Daniel and his Red Bull Carlin Motorsport Team take a 45 point Championship lead into the two races and with a potential total of 84 points available over the last four races in the series, he is in a very strong position overall.
To help his cause, Ricciardo today (Friday) set the fastest overall time on the 4.692 km (2.915 mile) circuit of 1.39.13, nearly 0.3 of a second faster than his nearest rival, invitation class runner Valtteri Bottas of Finland, who is not competing for the Championship this weekend, as he usually races in the French series.
Ricciardo’s main title rival, Walter Grubmüller could only finish the day in 9th overall, more than a second behind Ricciardo’s best time.
To take out the title at this race, Ricciardo needs to finish the two races with a gap of at least 43 points over his nearest rival.
Daniel aims to stage a repeat of the great form he showed last month at Silverstone, where he led the first race from the lights to the chequered flag.
Ricciardo: “We are not going to change our approach. We will try to go for pole position and then race for the win, and obviously not do anything silly while we are out there. So long as I can finish ahead of Grubmüller we should be OK.”
Ricciardo’s plan is to try and wrap up the title this weekend, leaving the pressure off for next weekend’s final rounds at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent, south of London. He’s already started the weekend in fine fashion!
It’s been reported in the latest issue of Motorsport News that Daniel Ricciardo is in line to test a car for the Red Bull squad before the end of the year.
Red Bull Racing Team boss Christian Horner was at the latest Silverstone race to see Daniel score pole position and his 5th win of the season. As part of the restrictive testing rules currently in place in F1, teams have special ‘young driver’ test days allocated at the end of each season to try out new talents and Ricciardo is being considered for a drive.
Horner told Motorsport News: “Dan is clearly doing a very good job in F3, and he’s done very well in the simulator work that he’s done with us already. We’ll keep an eye on how he does for the rest of the season and maybe give him a run out on a young driver day.”
Ricciardo said: “Hopefully they’ll be impressed with my simulator work and I’ll be able to get at least a straightline test this year.”
British F3 graduates have always been popular with F1 teams and last year’s Champion, Red Bull supported Jamie Alguersuari has recently made his debut with the Toro Rosso team. Daniel is keen to follow in his wheel tracks!
Red Bull Junior Team Driver Daniel Ricciardo strengthened his position in the lead of the 2009 Cooper Tires British International Formula 3 Series with a win and a podium place in rounds 15 & 16 held on the Silverstone International circuit.
Daniel and his Carlin Motorsport Red Bull Dallara maintained their previous good results at the Northhamptonshire track, starting out in Friday testing before the event by heading the timesheets by nearly two tenths of a second ahead of his nearest rival.
This good form carried on into Saturday’s first qualifying session – for Round 15 – which saw Ricciardo come out on top in a masterful performance, two tenths of a second ahead of his team mate Max Chilton and three tenths ahead of his main Championship rival, Walter Grubmüller, who ended up 4th on the grid. Most impressively 5 of Daniel’s qualifying laps were faster than anyone else achieved!
The skies cleared for the afternoon qualifying session for Round 16, but the wind picked up, making driving trickier on the fast Silverstone layout. The best lap times didn’t come until late in the session, which unfortunately for Daniel was curtailed by an incident with series debutant Michele Faccin at the Brooklands corner which left him with damaged suspension part way through the session.
Ricciardo had to rely on his earlier lap times, which left him down in 4th on the grid, but less than two tenths of a second from pole position. Pole was set by Japanese racer Daisuke Nakajima, brother of Williams F1 driver Kazuki Nakajima. It was Nakajima’s first F3 pole position.
Daniel Ricciardo: “The first session was perfect for me. The car was consistent and I felt really good with my equipment. The second run we played it safe and kept the setup the same. The conditions changed more than we anticipated and 4th was the best I could manage. It wasn’t the pole position I was expecting but a second row start wasn’t such a bad result.”
Sunday’s first race of 23 laps saw Daniel take a dominant lights-to-flag win, extending his series lead over Walter Grubmüller who ended the race in second place, nearly 10 seconds behind, after overtaking his team mate Renger van der Zande 5 laps from the end of the race.
Daniel Ricciardo: "I got the start I needed to get. I saw that Max didn't get away well and let the HiTech boys through, but that was out of my control so I had just to focus on my race, setting the fastest lap and taking the win. After a few laps I saw the cars in my mirrors getting a bit smaller, and that's what I wanted to see."
The afternoon race – round 16 of the Series – saw much more action as the field lined up behind debut pole sitter Nakajima.
Nakajima led the field away, but Ricciardo dropped a place to 5th behind rival Grubmüller after an average start.
The front runners were all closely matched however and on lap 8 Daniel was able to jump past Grubmüller to take 4th while on the same lap van der Zande made it past Max Chilton into 2nd place. The following lap van der Zande banged wheels with Nakajima while taking the lead, which allowed Chilton, Ricciardo & Grubmüller to all close up to the Japanese driver.
Two laps later Chilton tried to make a pass on Nakajima at the Becketts corner, but came unstuck, spinning down to 9th place. This left Ricciardo in 3rd, right on the tail of 2nd placed Nakajima.
The combination of defensive driving from Nakajima and a concern for his Championship lead meant that Ricciardo held onto third place, less than half a second behind Nakajima, with title rival Grubmüller a similar distance back in 4th place.
Daniel: “I was pleased with 3rd place. I had to think about the championship and once I was in front of Grubmüller it was a good situation to be in. I just needed to keep it. I honestly think I had the pace to win the race if I had started on the front row but that’s how it goes and it proves how important qualifying is.”
Dutchman Renger van der Zande cleared out to win the race by over 11 seconds. This result has put him only 7 points behind his team mate Grubmüller in the overall Championship and will make for some difficult decisions for the HiTech team in the 4 races left in the 2009 British F3 Series.
Ricciardo and the Red Bull Carlin Motorsport Team are in a strong position now, 45 points clear with a maximum of 84 points available (20 for a win, 1 point for fastest lap) from the remaining races at Portimao in Portugal on the 13th of September and the final races at Brands Hatch a week later on the 20th of September.
Q & A for Daniel:
Are you looking forward to the last two rounds of the Series at new circuits for you?
"I can’t wait to go to these two circuits to complete the championship. I’m hoping for a good result in Portugal and to wrap up the championship there with one round in hand. This would be a perfect season for me."
What is your programme leading into the last two race meetings of the season?
"It’s the biggest break in my calendar all year so I'm going to have some time off and spend it with my cousins who have come over from Perth for a few weeks. Then I will continue my standard program of training and eating well and staying fit."
Is the fact that Jamie Alguersuari – 2008 British F3 title winner – now in F1 with the Toro Rosso team an incentive for you?
"Yep it definitely is. To see Jaime’s dream become a reality really motivates me to do the same. He was champion last year and that’s what I’m aiming to become this year!"
Any ideas of what lies ahead in 2010 for you?
"I am unsure what the future will bring for me but for now I need to focus on winning the championship and if I succeed in doing this I’m sure Red Bull will promote me to bigger and better things for 2010."
Red Bull Junior Team Driver Daniel Ricciardo faces a critical weekend next weekend (15th & 16th August) in his battle to win the 2009 Cooper Tires British International Formula 3 Series. With only 6 races of the Championship left to go, this weekend’s two races at Silverstone are vital to his title hopes.
Daniel’s last race at Silverstone in May produced a win and his Carlin Motorsport Red Bull Dallara always performs well on the 3.2 mile International circuit, which incorporates approximately half of the traditional Grand Prix circuit. With an average lap speed of well over 100 mph, the action is sure to be fast and furious!
Daniel Ricciardo: - “Silverstone is a great circuit and although its not the full GP circuit, its still a neat little track and should hopefully provide me a good result. I am still focusing on race wins and dont want to get complacent yet. Im just going to go out there and be the best I can.”
As a change of scene, last weekend Ricciardo made his debut in the Formula Renault 3.5 series at the Portimao circuit in Portugal – the venue for the penultimate round of the British F3 series on the 13th of September.
The weather was hot and dry for the weekend, with temperatures reaching 35 degrees C. Thursday testing went very well with Daniel sitting well inside the top 10 of the timesheets for most of the session and ending it 10th overall, a great result for a driver in a new and much more powerful car on a brand new circuit.
Daniel Ricciardo: “It’s great to be here, and it’s ideal to start on a circuit which everyone else is just learning. I was in the top 10 for most of the session, so it’s very encouraging for a first run. Charles Pic set the fourth fastest time, I’m going to have a word with him and try and work out where I’m losing time. The car is a terrific drive. You learn a lot driving a car like this, it’s really good experience!”
Starting in the Group A qualifying session on Friday for Saturday’s race, things didn’t go so well unfortunately, as an engine problem curtailed Daniel’s running, leaving him stuck down in 23rd place for the first race.
Race 1 didn’t go much better unfortunately! After a storming start, improving to 18th, an incident forced his retirement from the race.
Daniel: “It was going to be a difficult race starting from the rear after the earlier engine problems. I made a good start and wanted to get amongst the action with the faster guys. Coming through some of the back markers I was a bit impatient and collided which ended my race prematurely.”
Race 2’s grid positions were determined from Race 1’s results, again putting Daniel down at the back of the grid in 24th, but things were much better this time around.
After a strong race, Ricciardo finished in 15th overall, less than 10 seconds behind race winner - and recent F1 debutant Jamie Alguersuari – who was the 2008 British F3 Champion.
Daniel: “For the second race I wanted to make sure I stayed out of trouble and completed laps to gain the experience. It was a stable race and I slowly gained positions. I was never going to be able to fight in the top 10. The engine problem in qualifying shaped the rest of my weekend unfortunately.”
Following the Silverstone races this weekend, the F3 teams travel to Portimao in Portugal on the 13th of September and the final races at Brands Hatch a week later on the 20th of September.
Rain soaked conditions at the SPA Francorchamps circuit made difficult conditions for all the runners in the 2009 Cooper Tires British International Formula 3 Series.
Red Bull Junior Team Driver Daniel Ricciardo put in another sterling effort at his favourite circuit to extend his points lead in the Championship with only 6 races left to go.
A heavy but brief downpour of rain delayed the start of the race (round 14 of the Series) and the race distance was reduced to 11 laps to make up time. The majority of drivers chose to start on slick tyres on the drying track surface.
Pole winner Adriano Buzaid lead from the start, with Daniel chasing him from second on the grid. The invited Euro F3 Series cars that had qualified 2nd and 3rd were relegated to the rear of the grid as their vehicle specifications didn’t fully match the British series cars.
Buzaid had a wild moment at the Pouhon corner on lap 2 as the track conditions worsened, allowing Ricciardo to close right up on him. After a strong run through the famous Eau Rouge corner on the following lap Daniel briefly got a nose in front, but Buzaid used the aerodynamic tow to get back ahead through the Les Combes bend.
The rain returned as the race progressed and the track became even more treacherous. Ricciardo wisely decided that second was the best possible result for his points tally in the Series.
Buzaid ran out the winner by 5.9 seconds, making him the 8th different race winner in the 2009 British F3 series. Behind Ricciardo the 3rd place on the podium – 15 seconds back on the track – was taken by Championship rival Walter Grubmüller who overtook team mate Renger van der Zande who slowed dramatically over the last couple of laps.
Daniel Ricciardo: "I had a sniff of victory today. I took the lead for a while but Adriano outbraked me in a good move. Then the rain came and I had a few exciting moments and I thought that if I can end the race second then that's going to be a good result for the championship."
Ricciardo’s championship lead has now extended to 37 points, almost two race wins clear of Grubmüller, with only 6 races left to go in the Series. With the VW powered Dallara performing well and the whole Red Bull Junior team working hard to maximise results, the prospects are looking strong for the remainder of the season, commencing with the next races at Silverstone on the 16th of August.
Following the Silverstone races, they travel to Portimao in Portugal on the 13th of September and the final races at Brands Hatch a week later on the 20th of September.
In additional news, Daniel will make his Formula Renault 3.5 debut with Tech 1 Racing at the Portimao Algarve circuit in Portugal on the 1st & 2nd of August. He will substitute for fellow Red Bull Junior driver, Brendon Hartley, who is on Formula 3 Euro Series duty with the Carlin team at Oschersleben in Germany.
Daniel plans to use the drive to learn the circuit – which will host the penultimate round of the British F3 series – as well as to get a feel for the Formula Renault 3.5 cars which are powered by a 3.5l 425hp V6 engine in a 600kg Dallara built chassis.
Daniel: “Red Bull have made the decision. Brendon is the regular driver but he's not available next weekend and I guess I sprang up in their minds. It's great that they want to give me a shot and Tech 1 are a championship-winning team so it's a good way to start. I'm not really sure what to expect, but I'm not planning to be at the back!
I hope to give some competition to the rest of the field and just compare myself to Charles Pic because he's won races and is quick. If I can challenge Charles, that won't be a bad effort. It's also a chance to get in some laps and learn the track before the penultimate round of the British F3 Series. I'm looking forward to it - it's two long races and it's probably going to be hot so I guess coming from Australia will help!"
While the F1 circus is off at the Hungaroring – with Red Bull’s fellow Australian Mark Webber riding high after his success in the German Grand Prix - Red Bull Junior Team Driver Daniel Ricciardo travelled to the home of the Belgian Grand Prix hoping to make a similar impact on the latest rounds of the 2009 Cooper Tires British International Formula 3 Series.
Thursday’s practice sessions were held in damp conditions, but by the time of qualifying a dry line had appeared on the fast and challenging 4.35 mile circuit.
The 30 minute qualifying session was interrupted by a red flag for the crash of National Class runner Max Snegirev (West-Tec Racing) after only 10 minutes of running. By this time Daniel had already started setting the pace, and once the session resumed he put in a couple of quick laps to cement his position before the session was delayed by various yellow flag incidents which prevented any faster lap times.
Daniel Ricciardo: "We weren't sure whether it was going to rain or not, so I just had to go straight out and push hard, but getting a lap in before the yellows helped a lot! Its great fun around here in an F3 car, its really rewarding when you get a good lap hooked up. Hopefully we can do the same again tomorrow."
Ricciardo ended the session 0.3 seconds ahead of his team mate Max Chilton, with Championship challengers van der Zande 3rd over half a second back and Grubmüller in 6th place nearly a full second behind.
This was Ricciardo’s third pole position of the season and laid down a marker to the rest of the field at a crucial time of the season. It also showcased his ability to the leading teams from the Euro F3 series that were running 5 cars at Spa in a non-point scoring Invitation class.
Friday morning’s qualifying session for Round 14 (to be held on Saturday) was held in wet conditions, with the track only slowly drying through the session. Lap times were over 22 seconds slower than the previous day’s session as all the teams and drivers battled to make the best of the circuit.
The final result saw a new name at the top of the grid, with Brazilian Adriano Buzaid and his VW powered T-Sport Dallara coming out in front by 6/10th of a second – making him the seventh different Pole winner this season so far. He was followed by two Invitation Class cars from the ART Mercedes team with Ricciardo in the Red Bull car in 4th place, 1.2 seconds down. His main rivals were in 6th place (van der Zande) and buried in 12th (Grubmüller) so the situation is looking promising for Saturday’s race.
Friday afternoon’s race (Round 13 of the Championship) saw another dominant performance by Daniel and his VW powered Red Bull car.
He lead from lights to flag in a faultless performance, made all the better by his nearest Championship rival, Walter Grubmüller having a non-finish due to an accident on the opening lap of the race. Beating the ART Mercedes cars which are currently dominating the Euro F3 series was especially sweet as well.
Off the line Daniel’s team mate Max Chilton stalled and was collected by the 4th placed qualifier, fortunately without too much damage to both cars, which both had to pit for repairs at the end of the first lap. This allowed Renger van der Zande to move into second place, challenging Ricciardo’s lead for the first few corners until the Safety Car was deployed to clean up debris on the circuit from the various lap 1 accidents, including that which removed Grubmüller from the race.
Once the circuit was clear, Daniel put his head down and proceeded to pull away from the field. The ART team cars eventually made their way past a struggling van der Zande, but couldn’t make an impact on Ricciardo’s lead.
Ricciardo: “I had a good start but there was a safety car almost straight away and thankfully I got a good restart once it went green again.
The first lap after the restart was what helped me I think, I pushed hard, I had a lot of grip on the new tyres which helped me break the elastic band so the drivers behind me couldn’t get a tow. Then it was about being consistent. I could see Renger and Jules fighting behind me; Bianchi finally got through and I saw him close in on me at the end, but it wasn’t enough to catch me so I didn’t take any risks. It’s nearly a perfect result. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s race now”
Daniel now takes a 34 point Series lead into Saturday’s race and is looking forward to a strong run to set him up for the last three race meetings of the Series at Silverstone (16th August), Portimao in Portugal on the 13th of September and the final races at Brands Hatch a week later on the 20th of September.
In additional news, Daniel will make his Formula Renault 3.5 debut with Tech 1 Racing at the Portimao Algarve circuit in Portugal next month. He will substitute for fellow Red Bull Junior driver, Brendon Hartley, who is on Formula 3 Euro Series duty with the Carlin team at Oschersleben in Germany.
Daniel: "Brendon is the regular driver but he's not available next weekend and I guess I sprang up in their minds. It's a good thing they want to give me a shot and Tech 1 are a championship-winning team so it's a great way to start. I'm not really sure what to expect, but I'm not expecting to be at the back!”
The rain showers that threatened the Ashes cricket test at Lords had an impact on the 2009 Cooper Tires British International Formula 3 Series races at Donnington Park this weekend.
Red Bull Junior Team Driver Daniel Ricciardo and his Carlin Motorsport team have been working hard to regain competitiveness over the last couple of weeks and have been setting excellent testing times. During Friday testing at Donnington, Ricciardo set second fastest time overall during the day and was quickest during the morning test session. This followed on from a successful test at Brands Hatch where Daniel ended up fastest overall, setting lap record pace.
Saturday saw two qualifying sessions for Rounds 11 and 12 of the Championship. The first session on Saturday morning saw the best times set late in the session and after putting an excellent lap time, Ricciardo was demoted to third on the grid at the last minute when his championship rivals Renger van der Zande and Walter Grubmüller from Hitech Racing snuck ahead, van der Zande claiming his third pole position in a row.
The second qualifying session – for Round 12 – saw Daniel finally break the Hitech Racing team’s run of recent pole positions, setting a time more than a tenth clear of his nearest rival, Adriano Buzaid from T-Sport, with the Hitech cars in 3rd and 4th on the grid.
Daniel Ricciardo: “Qualifying 1 was a bit frustrating because I wasn’t very satisfied with the car balance, yet I was less than a tenth from P1 so it could have been a double pole. Hitech were in front of me so I had some work to do. Qualifying 2 was better and I set fast times throughout the run which were good enough for the pole position I had been waiting for a while now. Definitely feeling confident for the race ahead”
Sunday races saw tricky conditions with occasional rain showers affecting the circuit. Round 11 took place on a damp but drying track, with all drivers opting to run on slick tyres. Grubmüller, starting on the dryer side of the grid, got the jump at the start and led the way throughout the race, with his team mate riding shotgun behind. Daniel didn’t have it so easy with his race though!
After a faltering start, Ricciardo fell back as far as seventh place before commencing a charge back towards the front of the field. The intervention of a safety car on lap 10 to enable marshals to retrieve a stricken car helped his climb back through the field, but some aggressive overtaking moves and lap record setting pace got him back to third place with nine laps to go.
Daniel closed in on the back of the Hitech cars, but van der Zande defended his position strongly, so Ricciardo could progress no further. The race ran out to the finish, with the front three drivers separated by only just over a second and more than 5 seconds ahead of the 4th place finisher.
Daniel: “I made it hard work for myself after a poor start and had to find some sort of rhythm before I fell back any further. Once I got going I felt very good and made some nice moves to fight back to 3rd. I was much faster than Hitech but couldn’t get the job done of finding a way past and I had to be pleased with 3rd.”
The second race of the day saw Ricciardo start the Red Bull car from pole position for the second time of the season. The race started in dry but blustery conditions and Daniel led the way until a safety car was called to rescue a stranded car that had spun as the rain started to fall. Upon the restart, van der Zande made an overambitious move from two places back and collected Ricciardo’s car, spinning him down to 7th place. Meanwhile, Adrian Boyd who had qualified a lowly 10th on the grid was making inroads with a car well set up for the conditions and had already made it up to 8th at the time of Daniel’s spin. He passed the recovering Ricciardo and continued a climb through the field that would take him to his inaugural win in the F3 Series, making him the seventh different race winner this season so far.
Daniel battled back to 6th place overall, which was elevated to 5th place when van der Zande was penalised for his contact with Ricciardo and failing to serve a drive-through penalty. Daniel’s main Championship rival, Walter Grubmüller ended the race in 3rd place, closing the points gap to Daniel slightly more after the 1st race of the day. Despite all the dramas, Daniel was only 10 seconds behind the winner at the end of the race.
Daniel: “The weather is really what started the problem for me in this race. I was leading, then the safety car came out. It started to rain on the restart and I got driven into by van der Zande. Nothing else to say or nothing I could do. I continued with some damage and hung in there for some points but mentally the race was over for me once this incident occurred.”
Attention now turns to Daniel’s favourite circuit, the majestic Spa Francorchamps Grand Prix circuit in Belgium, with the teams heading straight there from Donnington for next weekend’s races. Daniel now has a 13 point Championship lead over Grubmüller, but has extended the gap over van der Zande in 3rd place. The results at Spa will be crucial to the outcome of the 2009 Cooper Tires British International Formula 3 Series.
Daniel: “I can’t wait to get back on European soil and Spa is a great place to do it. Hitech are clearly trying a few tricks to take the title away from me but they’re going to have to bring something extra for me this weekend.”
Finally, Daniel and all his team would like to express their deepest sympathy to 1964 World F1 Champion, John Surtees and his family for the tragic accident that befell his son Henry who was competing in a Formula 2 race at Brands Hatch on Sunday. Henry had competed for the Carlin Motorsport team in the 2007 Formula BMW series and selected races in F3 in 2008. Our thoughts are with Henry’s family and friends at this sad time.
Donnington Park Preview – 16/07/09
After a return to the podium at the last round at Snetterton, Red Bull Junior Team Driver Daniel Ricciardo has underlined his desire to return to the top step of the podium by setting some scorching times in official testing at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent. He ended the morning session well inside the circuit lap record and 2/10ths of a second ahead of his nearest rival. Showers in the afternoon session meant that his time could not be challenged.
This weekend sees the 2009 Cooper Tires British International Formula 3 Series head north to the Donnington Park circuit in the Midlands for rounds 11 and 12 of the Championship. Both races will be held on Sunday.
Daniel Ricciardo: “Hopefully I’ll start the second half of the season as successfully as the first half – with two wins. The Brands Hatch test has proven that we are well prepared for the challenge at hand. I haven’t won now for six consecutive races already – so it’s high time...!”
Daniel takes a 23 point lead into the next races, but with 20 points for each race win, he has to keep an eye on his nearest rivals, Walter Grubmüller and Renger van der Zande from Hitech Racing to make sure that they don’t close the gap. With less than one week between the Donnington races and the next races at the legendary Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgium both Daniel and his Carlin Motorsport team will be working hard to maximise the results in their Volkswagen powered Dallara F309.
After battling to score points in the last two rounds, Red Bull Junior Team Driver Daniel Ricciardo and his Carlin team have got back on form and taken two podium places in the latest round of the 2009 Cooper Tires British International Formula 3 Series.
The teams traveled to the fast and flowing Snetterton circuit in Norfolk for rounds 9 and 10 of the championship – the halfway point of the Series.
After a Friday test session headed by the Hitech Racing Dallara Mercedes of series newcomer Renger van der Zande, the Saturday morning qualifying session for Round 9 saw the closest battle for pole position of the season so far.
Once the dust had settled on the 30 minute qualifying session, van der Zande was on top again, but only by 3 thousandths of a second from Carlin team driver Henry Arundel, who was only another 5 thousandths of a second ahead of team mate Max Chilton, with Ricciardo who put on a late charge in the session ended up a further 1/10th of a second behind in fourth!
Saturday afternoon’s qualifying session for round 10 of the series was held in cooler and cloudier conditions and saw the Mercedes powered cars take hold of the front of the grid again, with van der Zande leading the way once more. Ricciardo in the Volkswagen powered Dallara had a late start to the session, but ended up 5th, just 2 hundredths of a second behind his team mate Max Chilton and less than a quarter of a second from pole position.
DANIEL RICCIARDO: “To be honest I was disappointed with the qualifying result for both races. We lacked performance from the start of the weekend on Friday and we hadn’t made any real forward steps for qualifying. We are going to need something special to have a shot at winning the race.”
The first race saw van der Zande lead from start to finish for an easy win, but behind him Ricciardo made a good start to jump to third place initially, shadowing team mate Arundel. On lap 20 of 29, Arundel started having gear selection problems which gave Daniel the opportunity to get past into second place which he immediately consolidated, finishing less than 4 seconds behind the race winner and nearly seven seconds clear of Arundel who hung on to finish third despite his gearbox woes.
Round 10 of the series held on Sunday afternoon heralded another new race winner – the 6th of the season, as Team Fortec’s Riki Christodoulou turned his third place on the grid into a race win after a battle to the flag with Ricciardo.
Pole sitter Renger van der Zande spoilt an otherwise perfect weekend by bogging down at the start of the race and dropping down the field. Walter Grubmüller took the initial lead, with Christodoulou jumping into second and Ricciardo made a brave move and forced his way up the inside of Van der Zande on the run to turn 1, having to take a bit of the grass to get the job done. After three laps Christodoulou made his way past Grubmüller and into the lead. This bunched the pair up and Ricciardo took advantage of the situation and moved past Grubmüller on the outside of the following turn to take over second place.
Ricciardo gave chase to the race leader, but had to keep an eye on his mirrors as his main Championship rival Grubmüller tried to fight back over the remaining laps of the race.
The race ran through to the end in that order, but with the top three only separated at the flag by less than two seconds.
It was a strong result for Daniel Ricciardo and the Carlin Red Bull Junior team which extends their Championship lead to 23 points – almost one complete race win.
DANIEL RICCIARDO: “Race 1 was quite processional. I made a good start and stayed close with my team mate. I knew if I could find a way past I would be able to pull away. Eventually this happened and I then set my personal fastest lap of the race. But this was still 3 tenths of a second from the overall fastest lap. Still some work to do...” ”Race 2 was a lot of fun. I got a very good jump off the line and had to go on the grass to get ahead of Van der Zande who was squeezing me to the edge of the track. I had enough momentum to make the move stick and then set out for Grubmüller two laps later. I had a good slipstream from him down the back straight and went around the outside in the braking for turn 3. It was a bit risky but knew I had to go for it to give myself a winning chance. I tried to stay with Christodoulou but couldn’t get anymore out of myself or the car and 2nd place was the best possible outcome for me. Overall I’m very pleased to bag two 2nd places on a weekend that was looking quite dull on Friday.”
The next event on the calendar sees the teams head to Donnington Park on the 19th of July for Rounds 11 and 12 of the Series. This date replaces the event scheduled for earlier in the season which was postponed due to work at the circuit in preparation for the 2010 British Grand Prix.
The week after, the teams will be in action at the legendary Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgium for the next two races. These two back-to-back events mark a critical point in the 2009 British F3 Series and Daniel is hoping to cement his place at the top of the Championship over those consecutive weekends.
After disappointing results in their last two races, Red Bull Junior Team Driver Daniel Ricciardo and his Carlin team are looking to reassert their authority on the 2009 Cooper Tires British International Formula 3 Series.
This weekend’s races – rounds 9 and 10 of the championship mark the halfway point of the series. The races are being held at the fast and flowing Snetterton circuit in Norfolk.
In two days of testing at Snetterton last week, Championship leader Daniel finished second fastest to his nearest title challenger Walter Grubmüller on the first day and fastest overall on the second day.
The Red Bull supported team has been working on a series of improvements to the car to return it to the front of the pack.
DANIEL RICCIARDO: “We’ve had a good test and found some ways to improve the car. My main aim for the weekend is to get on the podium at the very least. We’ve had a bad run in the last four races, but I think we’ve got the pace back again and my goal will be to get to the top step of the podium. I’ve been training extra hard and my mother and father are over from Australia to give me some extra support so it should be a good weekend.”
Round 9 of the Series takes place on Saturday afternoon at 12.50pm UK time and Round 10 follows on Sunday at 4.50pm.
The week after, the teams will be in action at the legendary Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgium for the next two races. These two back-to-back events mark a critical point in the 2009 British F3 Series where the title could be won or lost.
Direct from the race at the German Grand Prix circuit at Hockenheim last week, Red Bull Junior Team Driver Daniel Ricciardo and his Carlin team headed for the prestigious Formula 3 Masters race, held at the Zandvoort circuit in Holland.
The F3 Masters is an ‘unofficial’ European Championship as all the top teams from the race series across Europe take part in this annual ‘one-off’ event. 36 drivers from across the continent took part in qualifying, which was split into two groups, with the top 10 from each group going into a pole position shoot out, which was crucial to getting a good result. Ricciardo was in the second group of cars and finished up well inside the top ten with 4th fastest time. This was an excellent result considering that Daniel and the team had to cope with using different (Kumho) tyres compared to the Cooper Tires they normally race on in the British Championship.
DANIEL RICCIARDO: I was pleased with the first session of qualifying where I was 4th in my group. I had only been on the track for 30 minutes until this point so I was happy with this effort and we were right amongst the top drivers. Then for the Superpole session the circuit had changed more than we anticipated and our pace dropped significantly. The way in which we chose to go with car setup wasn't the right one for the conditions and the most I could get out of myself and the car was just good enough for 13th. I was disappointed with this because it looked promising in the earlier session and I expected to keep moving forward.
The pole position shootout session was only 20 minutes long and the final few minutes were hectic as all the drivers were out on the track trying to improve their times, with the consequence that traffic was heavy on the circuit and it was hard to find some clear space to set a competitive lap time on a track that was getting hotter and dirtier as cars ran wide into gravel traps trying to extract the last few hundredths of seconds. Daniel and his team were battling to get a good lap time from the car and consequently he could only manage 13th fastest time, 1.3 seconds shy of Frenchman (& last year’s Masters winner) Jules Bianchi on pole, but was well clear of his teammates who didn’t make it through to the shootout session.
Come race day, Bianchi was penalised 5 grid places for blocking other drivers in qualifying, so his teammate, Finn Valtteri Bottas took over pole position and proceeded to lead the 25 lap race from start to finish becoming the first Finnish driver to win the Masters event in its 19 year history.
However, things didn’t go so well for Ricciardo as when he was heading to the grid on the warm-up lap his gearbox decided to play up and he was unable to take part in the race. This was his first technical failure on the car in 9 races, but left Daniel and the Carlin Red Bull team very disappointed.
DANIEL RICCIARDO: On the warm up lap I went up through the gears and only got as high as 3rd. I couldn't select 4th gear or anything higher so it was pointless trying to start the race so I pulled in the pits before the start and my weekend was done. An extremely upsetting end to the weekend. These things sometimes happen and unfortunately its part of racing.
The next event on the calendar marks the halfway point of the British F3 Championship and takes place at the Snetterton circuit in Norfolk on the 5th of July.
Red Bull Junior Team Driver Daniel Ricciardo had another challenging weekend as the 2009 Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series headed overseas for the first time this season. Rounds 7 & 8 of the series took place at the Hockenheim circuit – the home of the German Grand Prix.
Coming only a week after the last race meeting at the Rockingham circuit in the UK, it was a rush for the teams and drivers to get the cars prepared and ready to go at a circuit that was new for many of the drivers, Daniel included. The format for the weekend was also slightly changed, with the races split over the Saturday and Sunday, and qualifying sessions similarly split over the Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.
Friday’s qualifying session (for round 7 of the series) brought a good showing for the Carlin team in general and Daniel in the VW powered Red Bull car specifically. In his first ever visit to the track, Ricciardo ended up only 7/100ths of a second behind Renger van der Zande who has done countless laps at Hockenheim and only managed to beat Daniel’s time in the last five minutes of the session.
Saturday morning’s qualifying session for Round 8 (the Sunday race) saw another tight battle at the top of the time charts.
Conditions were damp but drying throughout the session, with final lap times about a second off the best of the previous day. This time around the Mercedes powered HiTech racing cars of Walter Grubmüller and Renger van der Zande annexed the front row of the grid, but Daniel was close behind in third place, less than 4/10ths of a second from pole position.
DANIEL RICCIARDO: "Qualifying was ok but I was really hoping for a pole position. From the pace I had in free practice I knew I would fight for it and really wanted it. Unfortunately we seemed to stay at our practice pace and the other teams found some more speed during qualifying.”
Saturday afternoon’s race saw the winner of the previous race at Rockingham, Marcus Ericsson make a lightning start from 3rd on the grid and jump both Ricciardo and van der Zande to take the lead and clear away from the pack. Aside from a small mistake mid-race when he ran wide at the hairpin bend and was momentarily lead by van der Zande, Ericsson lead from start to finish. Ricciardo meantime was having a more lonely race in 3rd place until challenged by the closing Walter Grubmüller, who had started 8th on the grid after problems in qualifying. After a short tussle Grubmüller was able to get past Ricciardo for the last spot on the podium and the cars ran to the finish in that order, with the Red Bull car just under 10 seconds behind the race winner after 30 min and 19 laps of the German Grand Prix circuit.
Heavy rain greeted the competitors on Sunday morning, but by the time of the race the track was drying, but still damp and unpredictable in places. Despite that, all the drivers chose the Cooper Tires slicks for the race.
Pole sitter Grubmüller led the field away, but a storming start from 5th saw the previous day’s race winner Ericsson jump to 2nd off the line. He held that place until lap 6, when van der Zande took advantage of the conditions to get back to second place and act as tail gunner for his Austrian teammate in the lead.
Ricciardo had an eventful start, having to take avoiding action so that he wouldn’t get involved in other driver’s accidents. This delayed him and dropped him down the field. Within 2 laps he had climbed back to 6th place and was involved in a close battle for the last podium spot.
Ricciardo and his fellow Carlin Team drivers Max Chilton & Robert Wickens (who had climbed from 15th on the grid) were all fighting over the place and behind them other drivers were closing in. It all came to a head on lap 12 when the chasing T-Sport car of Wayne
Boyd tried an ambitious move at the hairpin bend and only succeeded in making contact with Ricciardo and his teammate Chilton! Boyd retired due to the damage sustained, while Chilton received a puncture and Daniel fortunately only suffered a spin that dropped him down the field to 7th. This became 8th as he was caught by Nick Tandy on the last lap.
DANIEL RICCIARDO: "Race 1 was a long race for me simply because we didn’t have the pace to fight for the win. I tried to hold onto the last podium spot but Grubmüller had a much better package and made it look easy finding a way past me. Race 2 was very frustrating. I avoided a spinning car on the first turn and dropped from 3rd to 9th from this. I was able to regain some composure and get as high as 4th and was looking good for a podium at least. Then getting hit from behind ruined my race and another frustrating weekend passes by”
Grubmüller took his first win in the British F3 Championship after three seasons of trying and now holds second place in the title race to Daniel – who still leads the series by 15 points.
The next event on the calendar marks the halfway point of the Championship and takes place at the Snetterton circuit in Norfolk on the 5th of July. Daniel and the Red Bull car will be hoping to maintain their excellent pace but with some extra good luck added in!
This weekend coming sees Daniel and the Red Bull Junior Team traveling to the Zandvoort circuit in Holland for the prestigious annual “F3 Masters” race. Drivers from all over Europe compete for the win at this special event which is held in high regard in the International racing calendar and the unofficial ‘European F3 Championship. Previous winners of the event include David Coulthard and Lewis Hamilton.
DANIEL RICCIARDO: "I’m really looking forward to the F3 Masters at Zandvoort this weekend and I am going to give it everything I have in this non-championship race. There is nothing to lose and a lot on the plate so it will definitely create exciting racing and I hope to be up there at the pointy end fighting for it all come Sunday afternoon.”
Red Bull Junior Team Driver Daniel Ricciardo had weekend of ups and downs as the 2009 Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series took to the Rockingham circuit in Northamptonshire for rounds 5 and 6 of the championship.
After a 4 week break since the previous round at Silverstone, all the drivers were raring to go racing again in the dry and sunny conditions that prevailed over the weekend.
Saturday saw Daniel take his first pole position in the series with a time for the Round 5 qualifying session by a narrow margin over Round 3 race winner, Dutchman Renger van der Zande. In the second qualifying session – for Round 6 – Ricciardo’s qualifying run was hampered by yellow flags for an incident on the track and he lost the opportunity to get the best from his tyres, ending up 8th on the grid, but only 0.35 of a second from pole position:
DANIEL RICCIARDO: "When I went out for the second qualifying session this afternoon the car felt good. On my first flying lap there yellow flags at turn three and I slowed down so as not to get penalised. Then once the yellow flags were clear I started to push again, but I don’t think the heat cycle of the tyres was where I needed it to be. I’m sure without the yellow it could have been different."
“This morning was much better. I was able to put in a good lap when the tyres were at their best and get pole; the first F3 pole is ticked off now which is nice. I’ve got the opportunity in race one to lead from the front and in the second race I’m going to have make my way through the traffic. I think its positive overall; there are a lot of points to be won this weekend.”
After a minute’s silence as a tribute to JTR team owner Joe Tandy, who was killed in a car accident earlier this month, Sunday’s race action got under way.
Daniel started from pole position, but was jumped by van der Zande off the line. Ricciardo attempted to repass at the Deene hairpin, but the two cars came together and the Red Bull car retired on the spot. This enabled third placed qualifier Nick Tandy to come through and score an emotional victory for the JTR team, closing Ricciardo’s lead in the championship by 20 points.
The second race– Round 6 of the Series – saw Ricciardo line up in 8th place on the grid and hoping for a better result than the first race of the day.
The first lap saw incidents aplenty, resulting in 4 cars being forced to retire and previous race winner Nick Tandy having to limp back to the pits for lengthy repairs. All this enabled Ricciardo to come through into 6th position, which improved to 5th place when front runner Riki Christodoulou was first given a drive-through penalty for starting in the wrong grid position and then black flagged for not taking the penalty correctly.
Red Bull Junior Team Driver Daniel Ricciardo is looking forward to the 3rd round of the 2009 Cooper Tires British International Formula 3 Series, being held this weekend at the Rockingham circuit in Northamptonshire.
Daniel is back from an intensive training session in the Red Bull Diagnostics Training Centre in Austria and raring to go.
At last week’s official FOTA test session at the Rockingham circuit no drivers were able to match the times Ricciardo set at a test session back in March, him included! The track conditions were mixed, with a dry morning giving way to a damp afternoon session.
DANIEL RICCIARDO: "The test last week was difficult as there were changing conditions all day including some rain and very strong winds. I didn't do a very good new tire run so it was not a clear indication of my pace but I am confident to be up there in the top 3 for this upcoming weekend."
On a solemn note, Daniel Ricciardo’s nearest championship rival, Nick Tandy has suffered a recent tragedy. His brother Joe, the owner of the Joe Tandy Racing team that Nick races for was killed in a road accident on the 13th of May near his home in Bedfordshire.
Joe was aged only 26 and was killed instantly, while his passenger (and future brother-in-law) Luke Temple passed away later in hospital. We would all like to express our deepest sympathy to Nick, his family, the Temple family and all at JTR at this very sad time.
Red Bull Junior Team Driver Daniel Ricciardo has extended his lead in the 2009 Cooper Tires British International Formula 3 Series following another win at Silverstone today, making it three wins from four races!
Ricciardo started his weekend well by heading the timesheets after Friday’s two test sessions – held in dry and sunny conditions on the full Grand Prix circuit – by a comfortable four tenths of a second from his Carlin Motorsport team-mate Max Chilton.
Saturday threw up a challenge as Daniel’s qualifying session for race one was interrupted by a spin into the gravel trap at Copse corner, leaving him down in 11th place for his first race of the weekend, while team-mate Chilton took pole position.
Things improved for the qualifying session for the second race, with Daniel finishing the session with the second fastest time – scored on his final flying lap - only 0.15 seconds behind Chilton who picked up his second pole position of the weekend.
Race one on Sunday (Round 3 of the Series) saw Ricciardo jump from 11th on the grid to be 7th by the end of the first lap and 5th by lap three! After closing onto the tail of rival Riki Christodoulou, Ricciardo unfortunately couldn’t find a way past despite applying intense pressure, so he finished up 5th overall, less than half a second behind Christodoulou in 4th and less than 5 seconds behind the overall race winner.
Out front the race was won by series newcomer, Dutchman Renger van der Zande in a Dallara–Mercedes who jumped pole winner Chilton in the VW powered car at the start and was never headed for the rest of the race.
DANIEL RICCIARDO: "Race 1 was a good result for me considering my grid position and even just to finish the race from this far back with a clean nose is a bonus. I told myself I would be very happy with a top 5 if I could pull it off, so in doing this I am very satisfied with the result. I needed to be aggressive and alert on the opening lap and after some quick decisions it paid off and I jumped a few places."
Race 2 saw Ricciardo make a clean start from the front row and shadow his team-mate for 15 laps until Chilton made a slight mistake coming onto the Hanger straight allowing Ricciardo to pounce and pull up alongside. Coming down the straight and heading into Stowe corner they were side by side and Ricciardo bravely held on around the outside of the turn and picked up the lead.
A lap later Chilton fell victim to an opportunistic move from Ricciardo’s race one nemesis, Christodoulou and positions were then maintained until the chequered flag. Ricciardo finished up nearly two seconds ahead of the field and has extended his championship lead to 28 points – more than one full race win!
DANIEL RICCIARDO: "Max's first few laps were good and he managed to pull out a gap on me. Then I started to feel more comfortable with the car and I started to close in on him. I saw Max start to have a some problems and with a few laps to go I managed to get alongside him through the fast Maggotts/Becketts section and got the run on him down the Hanger straight."
Ricciardo now heads to Austria to do a week long fitness and health evaluation programme at the Red Bull Training Centre. The next races in the 2009 Cooper Tires British International F3 Series (rounds 5 and 6) will be held on Sunday the 31st of May at the Rockingham circuit near Corby in Northhamptonshire.
Following on from his double win at the opening round of the 2009 Cooper Tires British International Formula 3 Series, Red Bull Junior Driver Daniel Ricciardo carried his form through to a very cold and damp Silverstone circuit to top the testing times on Thursday.
Despite a late spin which ended his session, Ricciardo proved his versatility by making the best of the track conditions to top the times throughout the day, finishing up nearly 0.3 of a second faster than his nearest rival.
Daniel has laid down a marker to the rest of the field that he will be the one to beat this season. After the day was over, we conducted a quick question and answer session with Daniel:
DANIEL RICCIARDO: "It was a perfect weekend and I’m really happy with the result. We didn’t get pole position, but we were right at the front all weekend and were consistently quick, which was really important to us."
DANIEL RICCIARDO: "At this stage there is still another 9 race meetings to go, with two races at each one, so we will just keep taking it as it comes and trying to maximise the results each time. I’m still learning the car and the circuits and the team has more developments in the pipeline, so we will just try to stay focused and hopefully the results will come.
If you try and look too far ahead at this stage of the season you can get caught out, so we don’t want to do that! ."
DANIEL RICCIARDO: "Obviously my three team mates at Carlin, Max Chilton, Oliver Oakes and Henry Arundel have the same equipment as me, so I’ve got to work hard to stay ahead of them! After that there are a range of guys who can challenge us. There are other drivers such as Nick Tandy who has a different engine & chassis combination, which may work better at different circuits and in different conditions. We’ve just got to keep on top of our game."
DANIEL RICCIARDO: "I’ve not been to Brands Hatch as yet and I know that some of the other guys have a lot of experience there, but I’m looking forward to racing there as I gather it’s a great driver’s circuit and I seem to learn the tracks pretty quickly. I’m not too worried about new tracks"
DANIEL RICCIARDO: "The F3 car has more power and torque than the Formula Renault and the chassis is more developed. The Renault is a ‘spec’ chassis, whereas the F3 car has a lot more aerodynamic developments. This means that the grip levels are higher, so the cornering speeds are higher and the braking is stronger too. Also the team is allowed to make its own aero developments, so there are more things that change over the season. This means that I have to understand what the car is doing when we change things and work more with my engineer to get the best out of the car.
I also have to be fitter as the higher cornering speeds and stronger braking put more strain on me! ."
DANIEL RICCIARDO: "Because of the conditions we were working on a wet weather setup most of the time! It was a chance for me to get more comfortable in the wet conditions as I’ve not done a lot of wet weather running in these cars yet. We worked through some adjustments on the car and it kept getting better and better despite the rain, so we were happy with that. To be fastest despite a small spin at the end, when I put a wheel up on a kerb, was great."
DANIEL RICCIARDO: "For sure we do. I’m learning more about the car and the circuits here in the UK all the time and improving my feedback to my engineer so that we can make the car go even quicker. The team has an ongoing aero development programme and Volkswagen is working on some engine developments too, so there is always new stuff to work with."
DANIEL RICCIARDO: "Red Bull has a personal trainer that I’m in contact with every week and I send him through details of what I’ve done and download my heart rate monitor. He looks at my exercise programme and advises me of any changes that I should make.
Every couple of months they fly me over to Austria to their training centre and we work through a fitness programme there and twice a year we have a fitness camp alongside the other Red Bull Junior Team drivers from across Europe.
I also get some cool Red Bull clothing and hopefully I’ll get to go along to some Red Bull supported extreme sports events if I’m not racing! "
DANIEL RICCIARDO: "I spend about 4 hours in the gym, split between the morning and the afternoon which fills up the day pretty well. If the weather is good, then some of the other drivers and I who live close together like to get out and play tennis or go mountain biking or something like that. I stay in touch with the team base, but I only go there every couple of weeks or before a race meeting or test session to go through stuff with my engineer. I don’t want to get in the way of the mechanics who have their job to do, but it’s good to keep in touch and let them know you appreciate their efforts."
DANIEL RICCIARDO: "In other news, the Donnington Park round scheduled for the 26th of April has had to be postponed as the track is undergoing work involved with 2010 British Grand Prix, so the next races will now be on the International circuit at Silverstone on the 2nd and 3rd of May."
Red Bull Junior Team Driver Daniel Ricciardo has made a dream debut with two wins in the 2009 Cooper Tires British International Formula 3 Championship.
After qualifying strongly on the front row for each of the two races of the first round of the Championship, Ricciardo carried his practice form into both races for two dominant wins. With his new Red Bull sponsored Volkswagen powered Dallara performing perfectly in the clear and sunny conditions at the Oulton Park circuit in Cheshire, he now holds a commanding 12 point lead in the Championship.
Race 1 saw his Carlin Motorsport team-mate, Max Chilton, jump the starting lights from pole position, meaning that Daniel only had to worry about the pressure from Nick Tandy in the Mercedes powered JTR-Mygale, who worked his way through to 2nd place after a poor start. In the the end Daniel strengthened his lead, overtaking the penalised Chilton near the end of the race, and at the flag finished over two seconds clear of Tandy.
"I made a great start but I noticed that Max misjudged the lights and jumped the start, so I knew he'd get a penalty. From then on I had to race my own race and not worry about him in front. Nick's pace was really good and mid-race it was really hard to keep him behind me. It's a great start, to win in my first race here is incredible."
Race 2 saw an extra challenge thrown into the mix. After an accident further down the field on the opening lap, the first start was red flagged. On the second start, Ricciardo once again achieved a tremendous launch, overtaking the pole sitter, Walter Grubmuller, and by the end of the first lap of the restart Daniel’s VW-Dallara was 1.3 seconds clear of the pack. He consolidated his position and controlled the race from the front, bringing the Red Bull car home over 2.6 seconds clear of the chasing pack after 16 laps
"I had another very good start and got past Grubmüller. That was really the deciding moment in this race. My special thanks to the Carlin Motorsport team, who have prepared a perfect car. A great day, what an Easter weekend - a double win on my first race weekend in England, incredible!"
The next race will be held at Donnington Park on Sunday the 26th of April.
After a strong run in pre-season testing, Red Bull Junior driver Daniel Ricciardo is looking to make a strong showing in this weekend’s debut event for the 2009 Cooper Tires British International Formula 3 Championship.
At the final two day test official on the Silverstone circuit last week Daniel finished 5th overall, less than 1/10th of a second behind the fastest runner and well under lap record pace.
Daniel, along with his Carlin Motorsport team mates race an Italian built Dallara chassis powered by the new Volkswagen F3 engine.
This combination took 6 of the top 7 places in final testing, which highlights how close the competition will be once the flag drops at the first race on Easter Monday.
To underline the closeness of the series, over the 6 official pre-season test days held so far there have been 5 different drivers setting the pace. Only Daniel has taken the honours twice!
Teams in Formula 3 are allowed to develop their own modifications to the chassis and aerodynamics and Carlin Motorsport has an extensive Research and Development department, which has enabled the team to become the most successful British F3 team in recent years, including winning the 2008 Championship. The team’s experience and expertise is highlighted by the fact that they have been the only one to have the drivers consistently on the pace at each of the test sessions.
After a Championship winning result in 2008, Red Bull Junior driver Daniel Ricciardo faces a whole new challenge for 2009.
After taking victory in the Western European Cup Formula Renault 2.0l Championship and finishing runner up in the Formula Renault Eurocup, he will be taking a leap up the motorsport ladder, racing in the 2009 British International Formula 3 Championship.
Daniel was Australia’s most successful international racer in 2008 and is now in his 2nd year as part of the Red Bull Junior programme.
With the ongoing support of Red Bull, Daniel will be building on last year’s success, launching into the high profile world of British Formula 3. This is one of the most hotly contested series anywhere in world motorsport and the training ground for many Formula 1 champions.
Previous F3 racers include fellow Australian and Red Bull F1 driver Mark Webber as well as F1 drivers including David Coulthard, Jenson Button, Rubens Barrichello and Nelson Piquet Jnr. To speed his transition into Formula 3, the Red Bull Junior team has placed Ricciardo with the reigning F3 Championship team, Carlin Motorsport. Carlin are the most successful team in British Formula 3 history, with 4 championship wins since 1999 and 14 race wins alone in the 2008 season.
Already Daniel has been setting the pace in his Red Bull supported Dallara F3 car, powered by the latest version of the Volkswagen F3 engine. In the latest official test sessions at the Rockingham circuit in Northamptonshire, he finished ahead of the rest of the field and 1.5 seconds inside the existing official lap record for the class. This backed up his similar result at the test session held at the Oulton Park circuit in Cheshire a week earlier where he also headed the time sheets by a handsome margin in wet conditions on the first day of testing and backed that up with 4th place the following day in the dry.
"Im looking forward to the jump up to Formula 3 this season and I'm really enjoying the car so far. There is plenty still to learn and it is a very complex category but testing has been going to plan and the new Volkswagen engine seems strong so we have got off onto the right foot. I'm very eager to start the season in a few weeks time and let the real business begin"
The 2009 Cooper Tires British International Formula 3 Championship will be contested over a series of 10 events, 7 on circuits within the UK and 3 overseas at Bucharest in Romania, Spa Francorchamps in Belgium and Hockenheim in Germany. There will be two 30 minute races at each event.
Also this year there is the possibility of racing in the prestigious Formula 3 Masters at Zandvoort, Holland on the 13th and 14th of June and the famous Formula 3 street race in Macau on the 21st and 22nd of November.
The season starts at the Oulton Park circuit in Cheshire near Liverpool on Easter Monday the 13th of April and concludes on the 20th of September at the famous Brands Hatch circuit in Kent.
