Oscar Piastri names Daniel Ricciardo among his four favourite Formula 1 drivers of all time

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Oscar Piastri has named fellow Australian Daniel Ricciardo as one of his four favourite Formula 1 drivers of all time, along with two F1 drivers whom he never raced against.

Melbourne native Piastri replaced Perth-born racer Ricciardo at McLaren for his debut in F1 during the 2023 season. Ricciardo ultimately returned to the grid from round 10 of the 2023 season, after replacing Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri after the Dutchman’s disappointing start.

Piastri and Ricciardo ultimately only shared the F1 grid for a total of 25 races, as Racing Bulls (after their rebrand in 2024) replaced the latter with Liam Lawson. Ricciardo now admits he is “grateful” that Racing Bulls dropped him, as it then avoided him having to decide to retire.

Ricciardo walked away from Formula 1 after his release from Racing Bulls in 2024 with eight Grand Prix wins to his name. The 36-year-old also scored a total of three pole positions and made 32 podiums from 2011 until 2024 over his 258 race entries, of which he started 257.

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Oscar Piastri names Daniel Ricciardo and Fernando Alonso among his favourite F1 drivers

Piastri “always” enjoyed watching Ricciardo in Formula 1 before he made it onto the grid in 2023 at his compatriot’s expense. Red Bull sealed Ricciardo his F1 debut at HRT in the 2011 British Grand Prix, before he went on to race for Toro Rosso, Red Bull, Renault and McLaren.

READ MORE: The best moments of Oscar Piastri’s career in Formula 1

Nine-time F1 Grand Prix winner Piastri has also named Ayrton Senna, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen among his favourite drivers of all time. Of the three drivers, Piastri has only shared the grid with Alonso, who Alpine had wanted Piastri to replace for the 2023 season.

Piastri told the McLaren website: “First one, Ayrton Senna, that’s self-explanatory. Danny Ric, I always liked watching him before I entered the sport. Fernando was very exciting to watch. And I’ll go with Kimi Raikkonen.”

Alpine initially announced that Piastri would replace Alonso in 2023 following the Spaniard’s decision to sign with Aston Martin ahead of Sebastian Vettel retiring. But Piastri had already signed for McLaren, after McLaren agreed to pay Ricciardo up to £23.5m to end his contract.

In the end, Pierre Gasly replaced Alonso at Alpine, and Piastri has reaped the rewards of his decision to join McLaren after fighting for the 2025 F1 drivers’ championship. Ricciardo had his best seasons in F1 when he ranked third in the standings in the 2014 and 2016 seasons.

Alonso, meanwhile, won his two titles when Piastri was a child, after securing the 2005 and 2006 titles with Renault. The Spaniard also made his F1 debut driving for Minardi during the 2001 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne a month before Piastri was born on April 6, 2001.

Piastri could only retrospectively watch Senna, who made his F1 debut in the 1984 Brazilian Grand Prix and raced in the pinnacle of motorsport until his passing in the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. Senna won three titles and took more wins than Alonso and Ricciardo combined.

Senna secured 41 Grand Prix wins from 162 entries, of which he started 161, along with 80 podiums and 65 pole positions. Alonso has 32 wins, 22 poles and 106 podiums so far, while Raikkonen recorded 21 wins, 103 podiums and 18 pole positions between 2001 and 2021.