The day Ricciardo earned his reputation as a big brakeman

It is July 27, 2014: Daniel Ricciardo wins a rainy Hungarian Grand Prix, his second victory in Formula 1, at the cost of two very daring overtakes! Present in Formula 1 since the second half of the 2011 season, he stands out for being a driver not afraid to postpone braking until the very last moment in order to overtake his opponents.

The protagonists

Mercedes is preparing to compete in his 100th Formula 1 Grand Prix and, let’s be clear, victory awaits him. Since the start of the season, the Silver Arrows of Lewis Hamilton et Nico Rosberg left only crumbs for their adversaries as their superiority is so obvious. However, the Canadian Grand Prix proved that the W05s were not infallible: Hamilton retired with a brake problem and the malfunction of Rosberg’s power unit handed victory to Daniel Ricciardo.

Without counting the Mercedes drivers, who are on another planet, Ricciardo is the strong man of this first half of the season. For his first year at Red Bull Racingthe Australian dominates his teammate Sebastian Vettelfour-time world champion. His victory in Canada and his three other podiums propelled him to third place overall, nine points ahead Fernando Alonso.

The pilot Ferrarireigning double vice-world champion, inherits this season a car that is even more difficult to drive than the famous F2012. Only a podium, in China, puts a ray of sunshine on a calamitous start to the season for the Prancing Horse, which saw its director, Stefano Domenicali, resign and be replaced by Marco Mattiacci.

The rain gets involved

Once again, reliability is lacking at Mercedes. In qualifying, Hamilton’s V6 turbo hybrid engine went up in smoke and forced him to start from the pit lane. His teammate and rival for the title, Rosberg, started from pole position. As in Germany a week before, the Briton must move up if he does not want to lose contact in the general classification. Due to its short straights and numerous single-path corners, the Hungaroring is not the ideal venue for such a thing. But Hamilton’s chances suddenly increased when rain fell on the circuit a few minutes before the start.

A driving error in the first meters of the race therefore surprised all the spectators, the World Champion being so gifted in these conditions. At the start of the third turn, the Mercedes bearing the number 44 spins and hits the barriers. Hamilton fared well, with a slightly damaged front wing.

At the front, Rosberg was already widening the gap but the fruits of his efforts went up in smoke when the Safety Car intervened after Marcus Ericsson’s accident. Jenson Button, Daniel Ricciardo, fifth and sixth, took advantage of the neutralization to rush into the pit lane. The first keeps intermediate tires while the second swaps them for slick tires. Having already crossed the line at that moment, the first four only imitated them one lap later and gave them the keys to the race.

At the restart, Button’s bet only gave him a short-term advantage: the track was drying out, and the rain would not return. The pilot McLaren must quickly observe a second stop and gives up victory.

New crisis at Mercedes

Further back in the peloton, Hamilton used the neutralization to move up to the edge of the top 10 after 13 laps. Less comfortable in the wet, Rosberg retreats. Very quickly, it becomes obvious that the Mercedes drivers will (once again) cross paths… The meeting so feared by Toto Wolff, team director, is postponed until the end of the event due to different strategies: two stops for Hamilton, three for Rosberg.

After the Briton’s final pitstop, on the 39th lap, he left the pits in fifth position and was ahead of Rosberg, who had yet to stop. At this moment, the radio of number 44 crackles. We let him know his teammate is faster and that he must move out of the way. The answer is unequivocal: “I’m not going to slow down for Nico. If he can get close to pass, then let him pass me.”

Needless to say, Mercedes is under pressure. By acting in this way, Hamilton preserves his chances of victory, which are far from zero, but he greatly compromises those of his teammate. Ultimately, Rosberg will never pass Hamilton and will make his last stop with a good view of his teammate’s diffuser.

Ricciardo at the end of the suspense

Hamilton is not the only man on a two-stop strategy. Alonso also decided to only stop twice, allowing him to lead the standings during Ricciardo’s third stop. For the first time this year, the Spaniard has a chance to win a race. However, his worn tires deteriorated, and little by little, Hamilton and Ricciardo descended on him.

Spectators from around the world are on their feet as the leading trio enters the final laps. Alonso is clearly at a standstill, but Hamilton’s tires are also showing signs of weakness. The Ferrari driver gives everything to stay in front, even if it means taking the chicane escape route. The laps go by: 65th, 66th, 67th lap… There are only four loops left to cover and the Asturian still leads! But in the meantime, an overrun occurred in his mirrors.

On the 65th lap, Ricciardo came alongside Hamilton, from the outside, at the third corner. The overtaking attempt was unsuccessful, the Australian almost went off the track. But he has confidence in his brakes, much more than his opponents. A few minutes later, he tries the same maneuver again and this time, it works! Even though he covered a greater distance than Hamilton, Ricciardo positioned himself ideally for the next corner and passed the Mercedes. We are exulting in the Red Bull garage, but there is still one car to overtake.

In the second and third sector, the RB10 sticks close to the F14-T. Alonso is on track to finish on the rims, but a good run into the final corner could give him enough of a lead to stay in the lead entering the penultimate lap. But that’s without taking into account the monster appetite of Ricciardo who, after activating the DRS, throws himself inside at the first corner. The operation is clean, crisp and burr-free.

Just like at the Canadian Grand Prix, Ricciardo did not tremble when overtaking for victory at the end of the course. His second success in F1 is even better than the first, and it is not the last of the season. From the following Grand Prix, in Belgium, he capitalized on a collision between the Mercedes drivers to once again climb to the highest step of the podium.