Despite only recording one victory in the 2016 Formula On Championship season, Aussie racer Daniel Ricciardo has declared this year the most convincing of any season he has participated in since joining the series back in 2011. Finishing third overall in the driver's championship is nothing new either as it is a position he secured two years ago as well, however, this season just ‘felt better'.
“I finished third in 2014 of course and won three times that year and just once this time, but this year's third feels better, feels more convincing. Feels more sustainable too,” he wrote in his column for Red Bull Racing. “2014, it was hard to fault that, but this year I felt like I did everything I did in ‘14, but at a higher level when I really pushed myself.”
For the most part of 2016 Daniel has found himself up against a young die hard teammate, Max Verstappen, who has shown no fear when it comes to getting to where he wants to be on track. Taking the first win of his career and the team's 2016 challenge at the Spanish Grand Prix after the two Mercedes collided; Max has proven himself to be a very formidable challenger.
However, Daniel isn't too perturbed by the young Dutchman and was always able to pull out just that little bit more when it was needed….
There were races this year when Max was half a second quicker than me in Q1 and Q2, and then I'd pull out a Q3 lap that was three, four-tenths quicker. I was able to find some pretty good levels through the year, and there were quite a few times that I was able to exceed my own expectations for what I thought I could do, maybe even surprise myself a bit.”
Daniel is currently enjoying a bit of downtime with his family and friends back home in Australia, but the 2017 Australian Grand Prix is never far from his thoughts where he plans to fight for victory in front of his adoring home fans.
