When you think of F1 drivers who are ever so humorous and cheerful and yet keep their focus on the track, very few come to mind. Most certainly, Daniel Ricciardo is one of them, who has a very chilled out personality among others in the paddock.
However, that is not an indicator of him not being competitive, for he is a very serious competitor when he gets into an F1 car. This balance of mentality, though, is why he is one of the most liked drivers in the sport.
Speaking in the pre-race press conference, the 31-year-old Australian opened up on whether his personality could possibly affect a teammate. In light of Jenson Button’s recent comments, he also joked about his chances of partnering Hamilton someday!
Daniel Ricciardo believes he is able to “move on” pretty quickly from bad results
Ricciardo is quoted as saying, “I’ve never really thought about probably how it probably affects a teammate. I know it affects me in a positive way, I guess the way I approach the sport and racing.
“Obviously when it’s time to take it serious, I do but I like to have fun with it as well and I’m able to move on I think pretty quickly.”
The Renault driver is someone who does recuperate from negative results quickly. As a consequence of that, he is able to channel his efforts in the right direction for the next race he competes in.
He added and said, “And it’s not in a carefree, reckless way like ‘oh I had a bad race’.
“I will kind of dissect it but then by Monday or Tuesday I’m over it as far as it being maybe a bad result and I’m onto the next. I think it helps also you know if I’m getting beat, I can overcome it quicker.”
Ricciardo open to becoming Hamilton’s teammate one day!
“But yeah someone did tell me about Jenson he made some comments, I guess some positive comments directed towards me so that was nice. I’d like to obviously try it out one day, hopefully Lewis hangs around long enough and we’ll see what happens,” concluded Ricciardo.
Ricciardo has come close to tussling with Hamilton occasionally, during his time at Red Bull Racing. But the opportunity to drive in similar machinery alongside the Briton is something that may not particularly arrive soon.
But that would certainly be a sight every F1 fan would want to see, with two of the best drivers on the grid racing each other as teammates. Anyone fancy a Hamilton versus Ricciardo battle?
