[Driver] Ricciardo

[OZ_HCR32]

Originally Posted by Mr V

Indeed, yet decided to drop him. I'm wasn't being negative about DR before you lot jump down my throat the point i was making was what type of yardstick actually is Liuzzi? There is a reason why his career has gone towards the back of the grid, not the front.

Wasnt jumping down your throat Just commenting that of all the guys Disco Dan could be pitted against outside of STR, Luizzi is the perfect candidate for RBR management. Whether they rate him lowly or as average. They know him better then all the others guys getting around in other teams where there would be a large amount of guesswork to any comparison.

I dont think there is any real surprise that he is going out backwards slowly. You could argue that STR was not the happiest place for a driver in the Berger/Mark years where you read it was not a great atmosphere for a young driver developing.

But, he had his days at RBR before that, FI after that and is now seems ready to go out backwards from HRT when they get the right sized cheque from another driver.

[raymondu999]

I wonder if Helmut Marko (who manages the rotation of all the Red Bull drivers) purposely plugged Dan in HRT for a reason. Liuzzi has competed against Vettel in equal machinery, jumping in also in the last 6 or 7 races; and therefore you could almost do a like-for-like comparison of the performances of Vettel and Ricciardo (against Liuzzi)

[bella]

digging this thread out to post something from autosport.com in an article by tony dodgins about romain grosjean, oddly. it's from the subscriber section but i think it's ok to just post part of it. the full article is here for those who want to read the context: http://plus.autosport.com/premium/fe...second-chance/

dodgins spoke to jacky eeckelaert (thank god for copy paste) from hrt and giorgio ascanelli about ricciardo and how he coped with the situation:

Originally Posted by giorgio ascanelli

"Ricciardo is a good kid, but I didn't think he was daring enough. Every Friday morning he was within a tenth of his team-mate but every weekend he did, he was lucky because we had a second set of tyres for development and he could get in the groove.

"If you're within a tenth of your team-mate and don't put a foot wrong, that's good. He never put a wheel off the circuit, so he had margin, which was another good sign. Maybe he was targeting doing what he needed without taking risks.

"I don't think he did a bad job and I rate his feedback, I enjoyed his smiling face around the paddock but, on the other side, frankly, I think he missed the chance to do more. I think he had bullets in his belt and simply didn't shoot them.

Originally Posted by jacky eeckelaert

"I was happy we had [Vitantonio] Liuzzi in the car because he's a known quantity. Daniel takes his time to come up to speed but in the end is the same speed or similar – sometimes faster, sometimes slower.

"He got there very quickly for a rookie and without any mistakes; no spins, not even a flat-spot, nothing. That was very impressive. There were lots of others, even those with more experience like Bruno Senna, flying off left and right."

"But Ricciardo got more out of the car than was really in it - especially in race conditions. I think he has big potential."

thoughts?

[ECW Dan Selby]

What a mixed bag...?! Difficult to know what to make of that!

Thanks for posting anyway. Interesting insight there.

Selby

[chunterer]

I guess it's a bit like why we all thought he was placed there, just to get experience keep it on the island and not do anything daft.

Both engineers seem to think he is capable of more performance if required.

[spider]

A steady, yet unspectacular pair of hands is how I read those comments.

Not someone who is likely to fly off the track, but not one to blow everyone away from the sound of Giorgio's comments.

From the outside looking-in it appeared he did a nice job of bringing himself in and up to speed and by the end of the season looked a bit quicker than Tonio.

Would be great to see him alongside Heikki...can't see the point in Caterham keeping hold of Jarno, he was utterly underwhelming this season and there's more than enough drivers out there who would now give a lot for that seat - Bruno, Petrov, Ricciardo etc...

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by spider

A steady, yet unspectacular pair of hands is how I read those comments.

Not someone who is likely to fly off the track, but not one to blow everyone away from the sound of Giorgio's comments.

From the outside looking-in it appeared he did a nice job of bringing himself in and up to speed and by the end of the season looked a bit quicker than Tonio.

spider how on earth did you come to that conclusion?

Giorgio's been a bit careful with the superlatives sure, but look at that last comment from Jacky....

[Mr V]

Originally Posted by chunterer

spider how on earth did you come to that conclusion?

Giorgio's been a bit careful with the superlatives sure, but look at that last comment from Jacky....

I came to the same conclusion as Spider.

But going to the last comment by Jacky, he got more out of the car than was really there? yet looking at the first sentance, he was sometimes slower that Tonio? So surely Tonio also got more out of the car than was there???

[bella]

i came to the same conclusion as spider too. competant, but not heroic. it'd be interesting to hear where he thinks he compares with buemi and alguersuari, but judging by the way that the world seems to think the two of them are staying put next year the jury is still out.

i thought they were interesting words that's for sure.

[chunterer]

He also says that he has 'big potential', (the point I was referring to), which is about the best thing anyone can say I would've thought? Not bad coming from a guy who's worked with some ace drivers at Sauber...

In fact, isn't it interesting that the guy linked to Red Bull is less glowing than the HRT guy....

On the other hand, how could he be expected to 'do more' in free practice sessions - where he will have been asked to carry out specific instructions rather than going for it for himself - than he possibly could in an actual qualy/race situation, other than possibly driving an STR over the whole weekend?

[bella]

Originally Posted by chunterer

He also says that he has 'big potential', (the point I was referring to), which is about the best thing anyone can say I would've thought? Not bad coming from a guy who's worked with some ace drivers at Sauber...

that would depend on what context. for example, the top 10 at least in this years fr3.5 title standings (including ricciardo) have big potential, but how many of those have the ability to unlock that? maybe only one or two. and i do count vergne as one that can. i'm sure we can think of quite a few who fulfilled all their potential in f1.

for me saying someone has potential is like saying "you could be REALLY good at this, but you need to pull your finger out and work out how to maximise it". it's as much a threat as a compliment i think

[chunterer]

It's the potential that is the exciting part about a driver's path though.

Potential for me is what is a talented driver capable of? Which may not quite be the exact def of the word!

For me JEV probably has even more of it but like Ricciardo it would very difficult to blow other drivers or critics away in a poor car.

Another thought... Could Ascanelli be in danger of comparing everyone to the likes of Senna and Vettel, both of whom he's engineered in the past?

I guess in the case of the latter that would be a very good thing when being asked to evaluate drivers being looked at as potential successors to Vettel!

[Trev Campbell]

I'm probably a bit biased being an Aussie. But I think he did a fantastic job in the situation he was put in. If he had of gone out and tried to be a hero to really blow Luizzi into the weeds (As I think he is capable) and chucked it into a wall and written off a couple of chassis and possibly missed the races due to HRT not having enough spares everyone would have said he's not good enough to be in F1. What he's done is driven extreemly intelligently in the situation he found himself. That in itself should say something about how good he is.

Why STR will persevere with Buemi after 3 or 4 years of doing not much is beyond me. Stick Riccardo in a half decent car and see what he can do.

[JeremySmith]

One thing that needs to happen is for people to pronounce his name properly..

It's not Ricardo...

[Juarez Jed]

If he and his family pronounce it as Riccardo then what right has anyone to differ ? They are West Aussies.

[strider]

So how do you consider it should be pronounced, Jeremy? The 'i' is silent so far as he is concerned.

[JeremySmith]

Originally Posted by strider

So how do you consider it should be pronounced, Jeremy? The 'i' is silent so far as he is concerned.

Ris-ci-ardo

[Jimmy Magnusson]

Originally Posted by JeremySmith

Ris-ci-ardo

Sort of a moot point when he himself says this isn't how you pronounce it, no?

[OZ_HCR32]

My 2c which is always dangerous as who knows with these sorts of articles...

Originally Posted by giorgio ascanelli

Every Friday morning he was within a tenth of his team-mate but every weekend he did... If you're within a tenth of your team-mate and don't put a foot wrong, that's good.

I think he had bullets in his belt and simply didn't shoot them.

So he seems to be talking generally, but makes a reference to practice where he was as quick as Liuzzi in practice sessions and didnt damage his equipment...instead maximised his running to get seat time and suspects he has more pace in reserve...

...which paints the same picture as

Originally Posted by jacky eeckelaert

"But Ricciardo got more out of the car than was really in it - especially in race conditions. I think he has big potential."

Same general statement about him taking time to build up to a pace in practice where he seemed to want to maximise his time. But he references race conditions where he says he got more out of the car.

Not enough is really being said to read into specifics. But seems to be he is circulating in Practice getting data and experience. When it counts he in race he seems to be able to extract about all there is from the car.

Observing from a distance, excluding car problems it did seem as though Disco Dan's racepace was where he was markedly superior to Liuzzi. Watching the live timing, he generally lap after lap was quicker and did mix it up in the teen positions more then Liuzzi.

So RBR have extended his contract for another 24 months so I guess that means he will be on the grid in 2012. If they werent going to find a home for him why renew? So will know soon enough where he is driving and get another 12 months to look at his pace and development. One thing for sure you would expect it wouldnt be hard to leap frog the STR duo who are improving and developing but are stuck in circles.

I am sure if another team or anyone outside STR rated them and wanted them then RBR would be more then happy to sell them off to another team.

[wolfhound]

Well his seat is now secure for next year after today's announcement.

[chunterer]

So all the rumours against this happening recently were just a weak smoke screen. Marvellous.

[Charlex]

Jeremy, strider, in italian it is pronounced "Ricchiardo", with the double c lasting longer...

[Marbot]

When speaking during a BBC interview he said it was just pronounced as a straight forward 'Rikiardo'.

[JeremySmith]

I am sure he got fed up with people not using the correct pronunciation..

[N.A-D.R]

They've already asked him before. It's Ricc-ar-do, well that's how he says to pronounce it haha.