F1 race winner feels ‘there’s still some doubters’ of his abilities

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Daniel Ricciardo feels there are ‘for sure’ still ‘some doubters’ who question the Visa Cash App RB driver, which made his performance at the 2023 Mexico City GP special.

The 34-year-old took his only points through a bit-part season at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez with P7 in October. Ricciardo also qualified fourth on the grid, just ahead of home hero Sergio Perez. He was even only 0.149 seconds away from starting on the front row, too.

It marked the best qualifying performance by an AlphaTauri driver before the Faenza outfit’s off-season rebrand. Yuki Tsunoda took his best qualifying at the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP in P6. While Nyck de Vries took P12 in Monaco and Liam Lawson took P10 in Singapore.

The Mexico City GP was Daniel Ricciardo’s ‘highest point’ in 2023

Ricciardo returned to Faenza from the 11th round of the 2023 campaign to replace De Vries. But the Australian only contested two races before Lawson came in after Ricciardo broke his hand in practice for the Dutch GP. He would only return for the final five races of last season.

Replacing De Vries marked a return to Faenza for Ricciardo, having raced for the team – now called Visa Cash App RB – whilst called Toro Rosso in 2012 and 2013. He left Faenza to drive for Red Bull from 2014 to 2018 before spells with Renault (2010-20) and McLaren (2021-22).

Leaving Red Bull has proven to be a mistake as Ricciardo took seven of his eight Grand Prix wins with the Milton Keynes team. He also took pole position three times and enjoyed 29 of his 32 podium finishes. He finished third in two races for Renault and won one for McLaren.

Daniel Ricciardo feels the Visa Cash App RB driver has ‘some doubters’

Yet despite ending McLaren’s wait for their first – and only – win since the 2012 Brazilian GP at the 2021 Italian GP, Ricciardo’s time in Woking would not work out. He struggled to get to grips with their car’s front end before McLaren tore up his contract early to get Oscar Piastri.

Ricciardo built his reputation as being among the very last of the late brakers in Formula 1 at Red Bull. But McLaren’s car did not suit his driving style. So, to bounce back after half a year on the sidelines at the Mexico City GP was special for Ricciardo to prove his doubters wrong.

“[My] highest point of the season was Mexico,” he said, via quotes by Sportskeeda. “Mexico was the place I got my last ever pole position [in 2018].

“So, there’s always like something kind of cool for me of Mexico, as well. Yeah, I just felt like a man on a mission. And it was a really cool weekend for me, personally, to prove that I can still do it but also for the team.

“You know, for sure, there’s still some doubters. For the people that have believed in me and supported me, that was really nice to, yeah, just kind of confirm what they believed in me.”