“Anyone who thought I left, I never left”– Daniel Ricciardo’s redemption Italy; gets his first win after 2018

Tanish Chachra | 12/09/2021
"Anyone who thought I left, I never left"– Daniel Ricciardo's redemption Italy; gets his first win after 2018

“Anyone who thought I left, I never left”– Daniel Ricciardo’s golden words after winning the Italian Grand Prix ahead of Red Bull-Mercedes giants.

Daniel Ricciardo’s redemption is here; the man who was written was off because of his underwhelming start, being rated below to his teammate, who is almost a decade younger than him.

But Ricciardo never lost hope in his abilities and rose from the ashes to win the Italian Grand Prix to give McLaren its first win after 3213 days.

Who would have thought that the 32-year-old driver would be able to absolve pressure from the seven-time world champion and would be overtaking the young sensation Max Verstappen in an inferior car, whose fame was the biggest reason for Ricciardo’s exit from Red Bull at the end of 2018.

Yet Ricciardo did it with his nerves of steel and didn’t yield, even though his pitstop could have turned out to be a catastrophic call when he lost his lead by six positions.

So, in the end, his words after the race win, “Anyone who thought I left, I never left,” are indeed the most precise words ever said in Formula 1, probably in this millennium.

McLaren’s shoey

The celebrations, as expected, were going to be wholesome to another level, and the McLaren trio on the podium did the legendary shoey during the celebration.

First, it was Ricciardo obviously, then he insisted Norris to do it (P2), who reluctantly adhered, but Zak Brown was in full party mode, and without question, soaked in champagne and took a large gulp from Ricciardo’s shoe.

And that is where the Italian Grand Prix at Monza called it a night, the track that gave back to back unexpected winners. With this P1-P2, McLaren has a significant lead against Ferrari in the world championship.

Post Edited By: Tanish Chachra
Daniel Ricciardo Lando Norris McLaren

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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