Ricciardo's past could help re-ignite his F1® future, says Coulthard
Wednesday, 16 November 2022
Two-time Australian Grand Prix™ victor and 13-time Formula 1® race-winner David Coulthard feels Daniel Ricciardo needs to go back to basics if he's to rediscover his form and re-emerge on the F1® grid after sitting out the 2023 season.
Ricciardo is without a race seat for the first time since 2010 after mutually agreeing to part ways with McLaren, with this weekend's season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix his final F1® outing for, at least, the time being.
Speaking to the Australian Grand Prix Corporation's In the Fast Lane podcast, Coulthard said the 33-year-old eight-time Grand Prix winner should look back at his past to ensure his F1® tenure has a future.
"I hope to see Daniel in Formula One again – it's been painful for us all to see his struggles in the McLaren," Coulthard told the Australian Grand Prix Corporation's official podcast.
"I think he needs to step away, take stock, and rediscover whatever it was that was working for him I the first part of his Formula One journey. He's young enough and fit enough to be able to get back to that place. Something has definitely changed that's not allowing him to release that 'Honey Badger' performance like we've seen in the past.
"The performance relative to (McLaren teammate) Lando (Norris) doesn’t lie. No matter how affectionately we all talk about Daniel – he's definitely one of the fans' favourites – this is a stopwatch game, it's not a personality business. It's good if you've got a nice personality if you're delivering, but ultimately that's not going to keep you in Formula One."
One driver whose future is crystal-clear is Ricciardo's former teammate at Red Bull Racing, Sebastian Vettel. The 35-year-old German, winner of 53 Grands Prix™, will race for Aston Martin for the final time in F1® in Abu Dhabi, the track where he won the first of his four world titles in 2010.
Coulthard, whose own retirement in 2008 opened up a place for Vettel at Red Bull alongside Australian Mark Webber, said the final years of Vettel's career have been in stark contrast to his title-winning pomp of 2010-13, where he won four world championships in succession before joining Ferrari and, for his final two seasons, Aston Martin.
"It's easy to not give enough credit for what an incredible partnership he had in that particular era of Formula One with Red Bull … he was exceptional," Coulthard said.
"It does feel, because things have kind of petered out in terms of the big results, that you're not seeing the same Sebastian that we saw earlier in his career. But he deserves a guard of honour and to be celebrated as one of the most successful drivers in the history of the sport, and I've got no doubt in his next career – whatever that happens to be – he will continue to be an influencer and someone who shapes and forms opinions."
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