5 Iconic Daniel Ricciardo Moments in F1

After the 2024 Singapore GP, it looks like Daniel Ricciardo has taken part in his final F1 race. The 35-year-old is on the cusp of being replaced by Red Bull from the United States GP onwards. Post-race, the otherwise cheerful Australian seemed somber, hinting that he had made peace with the fact that his time in sport was over.

Despite a few challenging seasons recently, the 35-year-old remains regarded as one of the sport’s finest in his prime. With eight wins, 32 podiums, and countless iconic moments, here are five Ricciardo highlights that pay fitting tribute to the ‘last of the late-brakers.’

1. Ricciardo dispatches Bottas

During Mercedes’ dominant reign in the turbo-hybrid era (2014-2021), Ricciardo made a name for himself with bold overtakes. While his career is full of memorable moves to look back on in retirement, his daring pass on Valtteri Bottas at the 2016 Italian GP remains one of the most iconic.

With the duo of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg running away at the front, Ricciardo decided to spice up an otherwise mundane race at Monza. Having fitted the super soft tires on his RB12, the Australian chased Bottas down for fifth place.

With six laps remaining, Ricciardo pulled off the dive-bomb of the century, launching from a long way back down the inside of Bottas into the turn 1 chicane. Not only did he make the move stick, but after ensuring Bottas was behind him, he celebrated in true ‘Daniel Ricciardo fashion’—navigating the Curva Grande with just one hand on the steering wheel.

2. Four-wide at Baku

Going into the 2017 Azerbaijan GP, Ricciardo had not stood on the top step of the podium since the Malaysian GP the season before. But that all changed with an incredible triple pass on the Baku Street Circuit.

A red-flag period saw the race resume behind the safety car. Battling for P3, Ricciardo pulled off a triple-overtake on Nico Hulkenberg, Lance Stroll and Felipe Massa. On the Baku pit-straight, the honey badger went four-wide, locking up but making the move stick.

An unscheduled pit stop for Lewis Hamilton and a stop-go penalty for Sebastian Vettel meant that the Red Bull driver assumed the lead in the Grand Prix. He crossed the chequered flag in P1, winning his fifth career race on the Caspian shores.

3. Redemption Day

Heading into his seventh full-time F1 season in 2018, Ricciardo had already claimed victories in Canada, Hungary, Belgium, Malaysia, Azerbaijan, and China. However, one prize still eluded him: a win in Monaco.

In 2016, he came close and even bagged his maiden pole position on the streets of the Principality. But a botched pit pit-stop in the race saw him lose to Lewis Hamilton. 2018, however, would turn out to be his year.

Ricciardo took pole once again and led from lap one itself. However, with his engine losing power. The issue was later discovered to be a misfiring MGU-K, leaving him with a 25% power deficit and only six out of eight gears.

Still, Ricciardo would not give up. He fended off a Sebastian Vettel attack for 50 laps before crossing the chequered flag in P1. As Sky Sports commentator David Croft had labeled it, a true ‘redemption day’.

4. “I never left”

After spending two underwhelming seasons with Renault following his 2018 Red Bull exit, Ricciardo announced he would move to McLaren. While this move was touted as a championship-winning partnership, reality quickly unraveled for the Perth-born driver. Lando Norris (his teammate) consistently outpaced him.

Ricciardo was facing immense scrutiny, and there was speculation about McLaren considering axing him. Under pressure, he delivered one of his most iconic race wins ever in Monza 2021.

At the time, the Aussie became the first driver to win with McLaren since Hamilton in 2012. After the race, he said, “For anyone who thought I left – I never left. Just moved aside for a while.” 

5. Thanks Daniel

All signs pointed at the 2024 Singapore GP being Ricciardo’s last race in the sport. Despite not getting the Red Bull fairytale he had hoped for, he bowed out of the sport on an iconic note – possibly handing Max Verstappen his fourth world title.

VCARB pitted the 35-year-old in the dying embers of the race and fitted him with soft tires. This meant that Ricciardo snatched the fastest lap away from Lando Norris and handed Verstappen a mathematical advantage over his title rival.

With six races to go, Norris’ failure to get that extra point for the fastest lap means that even if he wins every Grand Prix and Sprint Race, with the fastest lap, and Verstappen finishes second – the Dutchman will go on to win his 4th consecutive world title.

When the Dutchman was told that Ricciardo had taken the fastest lap away from the #4 driver, he said, “Thank you, Daniel!”