Ricciardo: “This sport is crazy! », between turbo failure and victory in 24 hours

Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) never loses his smile. So imagine his good nature when the Australian climbs to the highest step of the podium! “I don't understand what's happening to me, but I feel like I never win boring races. They are all super fun”, comments the winner of the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai.

Tears, laughter, and that unmistakable smile #ChineseGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/FWdcoinkxF

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 15th

Everything changed when the race management decided to neutralize the event to clean up the debris from the collision between Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso) and Brendon Hartley (Toro Rosso). The leaders having already crossed the start/finish line were unable to change their strategy, unlike the two Red Bulls. With a set of new tires, Daniel Ricciardo could unleash the cavalry of his engine Renault (rebadged Tag Heuer) at the end of the effort.

From fifth place, the former champion of Formula 3 Briton swallowed up everyone until taking control of the race thanks to a finely played maneuver on Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes). “I heard on the radio that the Safety Car was deployed, analyzes the Antipodes pilot after the fact. Everything happened so fast. My pit stop is the foundational moment of my success, so I have to thank everyone on the team. »

“I really loved this end of the race”, continues the one who is in fourth place in the general classification, 17 points behind the leader Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari). “Of course, with the soft tires I had an advantage during braking phases compared to the others. We often only have one chance (to overtake cars, particularly due to aerodynamic disturbances and overheated tires), I focused on maximizing my opportunities. »

What does he think of his overtaking to win? “It was cool!” Tight but fair, and it's great fun for both the pilots and the TV. It’s still more enjoyable than quietly overtaking on a straight line…”

Daniel Ricciardo had nevertheless lived a difficult Saturday with a broken turbo. “This sport is crazy! We didn't even think about going to qualifying after Free Practice 3. Sometimes I find myself wondering why I chose this sport, there are so many things beyond our control that can put you at the bottom of the jump. But when you have a day like this, it's worth 50 bad days! »

Discover the analysis of the Chinese GP carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2161 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.