Photo: Herald Sun
Every Formula One driver has a favorite circuit - whether it's his home ground, the one where he gets the best results or simply one that he finds most enjoyable, everybody has a preference.
But just because they like more than they like the others, it doesn't make it perfect. For that, they'd need to take out bits of more Grand Prix tracks and mix them together to create a Frankenstein of a circuit that includes all their favorite sections.
Fresh off a second place finish in Singapore, Red Bull Driver Daniel Ricciardo found the time to stop by in his native Australia for an interview with Herald Sun. Asked how his ideal racetrack would look like, Daniel took the matter very seriously and gave it a lot of thought. In the end, he decided that his favorite part of the entire season is the swimming pool section in Monaco.
“You can see how fast the car bounces over the curbs there, gets over the barriers, so for pure satisfaction and adrenaline, that is the one for me,” he said. “I love corners that have flow and go from one to the other and you can really build a rhythm. I say you connect the dots, you get the first part right then it joins into the second, the third, so that’s really where you can build a flow, feel the race car, feel the downforce and the grip.”
That's why he rated the snaking section at Japan's Suzuka in second place, while the final podium position was saved for a bit from Australia's GP. “I enjoy Albert Park and the circuit. (Turns) six, seven, eight has got for me — it has got that flow ... and it’s fun," said Ricciardo.
Unlike most drivers who just get to dream about their ultimate racing circuit, Ricciardo actually got to drive on it. A somewhat smaller Scalextric version of it, granted, but it must have been nice nevertheless to see it brought to life. “I look at the map and I go, ‘Wow, it looks busy’, but I think it would be a lot of fun if some drivers got to drive on it. I wish I was 10 years old again and had a big garage that I could fit this in ... the track is awesome," he said, clearly excited.
Here are all of Daniel Ricciardo's picks:
Fresh off a second place finish in Singapore, Red Bull Driver Daniel Ricciardo found the time to stop by in his native Australia for an interview with Herald Sun. Asked how his ideal racetrack would look like, Daniel took the matter very seriously and gave it a lot of thought. In the end, he decided that his favorite part of the entire season is the swimming pool section in Monaco.
“You can see how fast the car bounces over the curbs there, gets over the barriers, so for pure satisfaction and adrenaline, that is the one for me,” he said. “I love corners that have flow and go from one to the other and you can really build a rhythm. I say you connect the dots, you get the first part right then it joins into the second, the third, so that’s really where you can build a flow, feel the race car, feel the downforce and the grip.”
That's why he rated the snaking section at Japan's Suzuka in second place, while the final podium position was saved for a bit from Australia's GP. “I enjoy Albert Park and the circuit. (Turns) six, seven, eight has got for me — it has got that flow ... and it’s fun," said Ricciardo.
Unlike most drivers who just get to dream about their ultimate racing circuit, Ricciardo actually got to drive on it. A somewhat smaller Scalextric version of it, granted, but it must have been nice nevertheless to see it brought to life. “I look at the map and I go, ‘Wow, it looks busy’, but I think it would be a lot of fun if some drivers got to drive on it. I wish I was 10 years old again and had a big garage that I could fit this in ... the track is awesome," he said, clearly excited.
Here are all of Daniel Ricciardo's picks:
ALBERT PARK
“I picked (turns) six, seven, eight. For me, what I always enjoy in a track is a flow, or combination of corners put together and that was the section where it kinks left, then drops right and then left again. It’s a cool little part of the track where you could just get in and get out quite well.’’SUZUKA
“The first sector in Suzuka where it climbs up the hill like a snake, a bit of a rollercoaster sort of feeling. That’s cool.”MONACO
“The swimming pool in Monaco, around the swimming pool, a fast chicane, jump on the curbs, get close to the wall and you can really feel the car through there.”AUSTIN
“Austin turn one, it’s a real unique corner, it’s really wide at the apex, something which we don’t really have anywhere else on the calendar and it creates good opportunities for overtaking. I love Austin.”SPA
“Puohon at Spa, turns 10-11, it’s just a fast downhill left-hander that requires quite a bit of bit of bravery. I quite enjoyed that one.”SILVERSTONE
“Silverstone Maggott’s, Becketts, it’s sort of like Suzuka but it’s a bit shorter, tighter, quicker and not uphill, so a bit faster. It’s sort of a left, right, left, right, left combination, you arrive in eighth, down to seven, down to sixth, down to fifth and then out of it, so it’s cool.”#1 MONACO
“Monaco, the swimming pool section, that for me is awesome. You can see how fast the car bounces over the curbs there, gets over the barriers, so for pure satisfaction and adrenaline, that is the one.”.@danielricciardo and Nic Naitanui racing the Red Bull star's ultimate F1 track @heraldsunsport pic.twitter.com/MSkBvFmzKu
— Rebecca Williams (@BecHeraldSun) September 22, 2016
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