Why I Like DR

[Ruslan 0]

To start with, he gives open and honest appraisals:

1. "I do not give any excuses," Australian Ricciardo told the Dutch source Formule 1. "Max is just driving brilliantly this year and knows how to get the most out of the car in every race."

2. "Max has had a lot of bad luck and I have no explanation for why. I have asked the engineers if it could be because of him, but Max is not too rough with the equipment. It's just pure bad luck," he insisted.

Doesn't get more open and honest than this.

Would be curious to know who he thinks is better, Verstappen or Vettel.

 

[Sakae 0]

In lower series I think it was Ocon (Force India), who had better results than Verstappen.

[Publius Cornelius Scipio 0]

DR is a great sportsman

[Massa 0]

On 11/6/2017 at 2:56 PM, Sakae said:

In lower series I think it was Ocon (Force India), who had better results than Verstappen.

It is true that Ocon won the European Formula 3 title the year Verstappen finished third, with Tom Blomqvist in second.

And it is true that both Ocon and Verstappen were rookies in Formula 3.

However, Ocon had been racing cars for two years as a somewhat mediocre Formula Renault 2.0 driver.  Verstappen came almost straight out of karts; he had only run 14 car races, all in the Florida Winter Series, which is a 1400cc Formula Abarth (Fiat) car.

Plus, Ocon was racing for Prema, the best team, powered by Mercedes, the best engine.  Verstappen had a Volkswagen, which was still competitive (in fact, Blomqvist had a Volkswagen), but not the absolute best equipment.

So, while Ocon beat him, Verstappen was far more impressive.

And believe me—I like Ocon, and strongly dislike Verstappen, so it sucks to write that.

But it's also the truth of junior formulae.  Paul di Resta beat Sebastian Vettel to the title in Formula 3.  Not sure anyone today is arguing that di Resta is better than Vettel.  In fact, the subject of this thread, Daniel Ricciardo, lost the Formula BMW Asia title to Earl Bamber, someone you'd only know if you watch sports car racing.  That year, Ricciardo finished a mere fifth in the World Final, won by Christian Vietoris, a GP2 journeyman who became a DTM journeyman.  In 2010, Ricciardo move to Formula Renault 3.5.  Mikhail Aleshin won the title; his career peaked as a crash-prone IndyCar back-of-the-fielder.  Esteban Guerrieri scored more points per race than Ricciardo, too, but did not have the budget for a full season (Guerrieri won six races in a partial season; Ricciardo four in a full).  Guerrieri went to Indy Lights, not even IndyCar, and now races touring cars.  Finally, in 2011, Ricciardo ran part-time in FR3.5; his points per race would have put him third in the standings behind Robert Wickens (DTM race winner who is now going to IndyCar) and Jean-Éric Vergne (who you may remember Ricciardo beating to the Red Bull drive while at Toro Rosso).  Alexander Rossi also posted similar numbers to Ricciardo; Rossi's time in F1 was brief and uninspiring, and he now races IndyCar.

So, you can't really go by that stuff.  They pay people to find young talent specifically because it is a skill to recognize who has the right package to develop into an F1 driver and who doesn't.  The results don't always tell that because, in these categories, drivers have such a spread.  And because of driving style—certain styles may win you shorter races on shorter tracks with less powerful cars, but the real show won't be so forgiving (see Lance Stroll's early career).

[Sakae 0]

Quote

So, you can't really go by that stuff. 

8 November 2017   10:57 (CET)

Yes, I know, but why not? I also know it has not stopped Hamilton's crowd praising him so highly without blink of an eyelid, despite his was in one of two cars that were racing in their own hyper-zone for 3 years without challenge. To add insult to the injury, Hamilton was yapping to receptive media how he likes "fair" fight, and not like Vettel having "best" car for four years (he added), which was of course a toss between lie or to say at least an inaccurate/dubious statement which hanged there unchallenged. Vettel had his own odd year in 2014 yet it doesn't stops DR crowd to claim ever-lasting superiority over champ.  Life is strange sometimes.

Ocon is on the rise, and I consider him a guy with more potential than some others in young stock. He needs a better team than FI. Replacing Kimi next year could be good chance to show his worth.