Daniel Ricciardo pinpoints driver’s input as “the best thing about coming to Monaco” as the narrow and twisted streets of Monte Carlo host round six of this year’s Formula One world championship next weekend.
Red Bull and engine partner Renault have experienced a tough start to the 2015 season with team principal Christian Horner even admitting their campaign is already “pretty much a write-off”.
Ricciardo’s best results so far have been a pair of sixth-place finishes, but the Australian hopes Monaco’s unusual layout will level the playing field and allow him to mix it at the front.
“From the driver’s point of view – and maybe teams see it differently – the best thing about coming to Monaco is that it’s a circuit where the driver has more influence on events,” says the three-time grand prix winner.
“Driving a Formula One car anywhere is special – the speed, the power and the acceleration just blows you away – but here it’s like trying to do a lap in a supermarket, and that’s just so, so cool.”
Ricciardo’s Monaco resume in the junior categories is pretty impressive, as highlighted by the two race wins he secured while competing in Formula Renault 3.5 Series.
What’s more, the 25-year-old also claimed a strong podium finish last year when he hunted down Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes and crossed the line less than half a second behind the Briton.
“I know there’s that quote about racing at Monaco being like riding a bicycle around your bathroom – well when I was a kid I used to love riding my little bike around inside the house. It was more fun, there were more obstacles and a bit more danger. That really is what this is like: You have the walls around the circuit and the bumps on the track that make it a bit more real.
“The circuit has a lot of character; you can feel that in the car. You can’t afford mistakes, your concentration levels rocket and you tend to amaze yourself with how quickly you manage to do everything. Just completing a lap feels like an achievement. It feels like a challenge.”
Ricciardo currently sits seventh in the Driver's tables while Red Bull is a distant fourth in the Constructors' standings.
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