[Driver] The GOAT - Round One - Hunt vs Ricciardo

[crmalcolm]

The fourteenth match-up in Round One sees Hunt vs Ricciardo.

So who do you vote for as the greater driver?

James Hunt
James Hunt captured the imagination of a generation of British teenagers in the summer of 1976, as he swash-buckled and partied his way to the Formula 1 world championship title. But despite the fun-loving playboy side to his nature, he saved a fierce and competitive racing force for his rivals on the track.

Known as Hunt-the-shunt in his reckless F3 days, when the mood took him, there was no one faster, as he proved at Hesketh from '73-'75. It needed McLaren to hone the champion potential though, and he continued to race on nerves that frequently made him vomit prior to the start of a race. He grew into a match for all of his rivals, save perhaps Niki Lauda.

That the '76 title provided the pinnacle of his career was fitting given the nature in which he fought against the odds in the pouring rain of Fuji, to third, overhauling Lauda's points total - the Austrian having dramatically pulled out because of the conditions.

Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo seems to have been poised for several seasons — perhaps for too long — on the edge of potential greatness. His domination of Sebastian Vettel in 2014, in a team built around the reigning four-time consecutive champion, was a statement that cannot easily be forgotten: 11-3 in counting races, 12-7 in qualifying, and 238-167 in points. Yet, subsequent results from Vettel have generated plausibility that this was one of his off-form seasons, and that is what the model currently considers the most probable interpretation.

After proving himself as a rookie against Vitantonio Liuzzi, Ricciardo was paired with Jean-Eric Vergne at Toro Rosso. After beating Vergne 17-12 in counting races, 29-10 in qualifying, and 30-29 in points, Ricciardo was promoted to Red Bull to replace the outgoing Mark Webber.

Following Vettel’s unexpected departure from the team, Ricciardo was joined by the inexperienced Daniil Kvyat. Ricciardo was leading Kvyat 9-8 in counting races, 15-7 in qualifying, and 128-116 in points when Kvyat was in turn surprisingly replaced by Max Verstappen.

Joining Red Bull in just his second season of F1 and third year since go-karts, Verstappen was clearly still maturing as a driver at this stage, but impressed by immediately challenging Ricciardo. As Verstappen gained age and experience, his advantage over Ricciardo gradually appeared to increase, as shown in the qualifying gap graphic below. In their first season together, Ricciardo had a median qualifying lap-time advantage of 0.14%, but this had swung to 0.21% in Verstappen’s favor by 2017, which he maintained in 2018. Across the whole of 2016-2018, Ricciardo was narrowly behind in the overall head-to-head tallies, 17-22 in counting races, 22-28 in qualifying, and 590-608 in points.

[chillibowl]

this may have been the hardest one for me so far...Hunt because of the title.

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by chillibowl

this may have been the hardest one for me so far...Hunt because of the title.

I completely agree. Hunt for me too.

[E.B]

yup. Me too.

[FIRE]

Hunt