Daniel Ricciardo’s 70th Anniversary Grand Prix

Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo has faced another disappointing race with the French Formula One team. This follows after the Australian-native maintained 5th place in qualifying on August 7th. Throughout the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone, Ricciardo would find himself dropping in pace & finishing in P14. It marks one of the most nightmarish races for Daniel Ricciardo in his Formula One career, proving the Australian Driver made the right choice by switching over to McLaren Racing for 2021.

When questioned on what happened during the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, Daniel Ricciardo revealed that the RS20 failed to perform throughout the entirety of this race. That was clear when Nico Hulkenberg & Lance Stroll both passed Ricciardo on the 4th Corner at Silverstone (The Loop). Daniel Ricciardo would than struggle to maintain & preserve his Medium Tyre Compound with the unsatisfactory track conditions. The 43-Degree temperature seen at Silverstone on August 9th prompted expected blistering for Ricciardo, forcing Renault to Pit for the Hard Compound twice.

A 3rd Pit Stop unfolded for Daniel “Honey Badger” Ricciardo after Carlos Sainz from McLaren Racing defended against the Australian Driver. It’s prompted Daniels RS20 to spin towards the final laps, forcing the third Pit Stop and Release on the Medium Tyre Compound. Daniel Ricciardo would end the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone nine places lower than he’d qualified.

Daniel Ricciardo shockingly didn’t place all the blame onto Renault, which is adeptly deserved for their lack of maintaining a contractual promise to the Honey Badger. Ricciardo noted that it wasn’t Carlos Sainz that prompted the spin. Daniel couldn’t defend under his normal conditions with the track conditions, permanently destroying his Hard Compound when defending against Sainz. Returning to the track on the Medium Compound could’ve garnered Ricciardo a “Fastest Lap Point” but wasn’t achieved. Overall, it’s one of the worst races the Honey Badger has had in recent memory.

Hope for the Future

The lack of pace maintained throughout the 2019 & 2020 Formula One Seasons with Renault will make Daniel Ricciardo more prepared to join McLaren Racing. Competing with Lando Norris in a better-performing vehicle could see Ricciardo content his former teammate Max Verstappen for Podium finishes.