It is near impossible to find a reason to dislike Aussie F1 Superstar Daniel Ricciardo. He’s just one of those blokes that everyone wishes they were mates with.
This weekend the fast driving, shoey drinking Visa Cash App Red Bull (or V-CARB to save us all time) driver is back on home soil and is ready to tear the Albert Park circuit a new one!
The Aussie Grand Prix hasn’t always been Danny Ricc’s best track, he’s always one to put on a show for the fans in his home country.
We all love an underdog and a redemption story though, especially an Aussie one and there will be thousands of fans watching on hoping he can get it done.
I went back through the years and broke down Ricciardo’s races in the Aussie Grand Prix.
2012
Racing for Scuderia Toro Rosso, a fresh faced Ricciardo took on the Australian Grand Prix for the first time.
Qualifying 10th after electing not to complete a timed lap, it was always going to be an uphill battle with the likes of Jenson Button, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton in front of him.
Late in the final lap of the race, Ricciardo overtook teammate Jean-Éric Vergne to finish 9th and score his first ever World Championship points.
2013
Torro Rosso re-signed Danny for the 2013 season and he arrived at Albert Park ready to improve on his solid 2012 performance.
In typical Melbourne style, the weather was all over the shop.
Melbourne recorded a record heatwave in March 2013 and then proceeded to bucket down just in time for qualifying.
The hot and then wet conditions made it tough for the drivers. Ricciardo qualified 14th and failed to make it through to Q3.
It wasn’t much of a better race for Ricciardo either, the Aussie was forced to retire with a broken exhaust.
2014
After replacing Aussie legend Mark Webber at Red Bull, the Australian Grand Prix was the first race of the 2014 season.
Danny was absolutely flying!
He qualified second behind Lewis Hamilton and raced the house down, finishing second to become the first ever Australian to make the podium at the Australian Grand Prix.
Sadly however, Ricciardo was unable to celebrate after getting disqualified due to his car exceeding the mandated hourly fuel flow rate limit (whatever that means).
Red Bull appealed the disqualification but was sadly rejected and the DQ was upheld.
Kevin Magnussen and Jenson Button were given the podium after Ricciardo’s disqualification.
2015
Fresh off his record breaking Top Gear Reasonably Priced Car lap time. Ricciardo came into the Australian Grand Prix as the favourite to win at $19.
Things didn’t go according to plan early, Danny missed practice sessions due to car problems, his car stopping at the end of pit lane due to engine issues.
Red Bull got it together however and Ricciardo ended up qualifying seventh after a less than ideal start to the weekend.
He gave it a good crack and ended up finishing sixth in what was arguably his best opportunity to win on home soil.
2016
Danny’s best showing at an Australian Grand Prix. After a wet and wild free practice which saw Ricciardo’s car get stuck in the gravel at turn 12, the Aussie ended up qualifying eighth.
Ricciardo absolutley turned it on for the local crowd and raced the house down, setting the fastest lap time of the race in his 49th go round.
A fourth place finish managed to tie Mark Webber in 2012 for the highest ever placing by an Australian driver at an Aussie Grand Prix.
2017
Danny Ric was red hot contender to be drinking a shoey on the Aussie podium with the bookies backing him at $9.
Unfortunately for the Aussie driver it was an absolute disaster of a start.
Ricciardo qualified 10th after spinning out and crashing into a tyre barrier in Q3.
It went from bad to worse after that, Danny received a five place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change as a result of the qualifying crash.
To make matters worse, a gearbox sensor issue in the Red Bull car caused it to fail on the way to the starting grid, Ricciardo entered the race on the second lap after being instructed to “have some fun” and subsequently retired on lap 26.
A race that Ricciardo and fans alike would prefer to forget.
2018
What ended up as his final Aussie Grand Prix as a Red Bull Driver, Ricciardo arrived to the GP once again expected to compete… until disaster struck early in the weekend.
Ricciardo copped a three place grid penalty and two super licence penalty points for not staying above the minimum time during practice.
Qualifying went a lot smoother than 2017 though, with Ricciardo finishing in fifth position, one place behind Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen.
Danny had a point to prove after his poor showing the year before, driving like a mad man, hot on Ferrari’s Kimi Räikkönen’s heels all race.
Ricciardo once again scored the race’s fastest lap time but it wasn’t enough to get on the podium.
Finishing fourth once again, he matched his best showing as well as Mark Webber’s back in 2012.
2019
Ricciardo announced his move to Renault in August of 2018 and the Australian Grand Prix in 2019 was his first return to home soil in a new car.
He was ready to hit the ground running but struggled in qualifying which saw him being knocked out after Q2 and starting from 12th on the grid.
Haunted by previous poor showings on Aussie soil Danny was desperate to get a good race in for the Aussie fans that have wanted to see him podium in his home race for years.
Ricciardo tussled for positioning with Sergio Pérez on the opening lap of the race which saw Daniel have to drive on the grass to avoid the Racing Point driver.
The incident sent him to the back of the field, after his front wing broke after driving over a sunken section of tarmac.
Ricciardo got the section of car replaced but sadly had to retire due to the incident.
2022
After a couple of postponements in 2020 and 2021, Ricciardo came back to Australia behind the wheel of a McLaren during his ill-fated stint with the Zac Brown run team.
Qualifying produced an encouraging result for the West Australian and saw him start Sunday’s race in seventh place.
Having retired in his previous outing in Saudi Arabia, Ricciardo drove like a man on a mission and gained a place to finish in sixth.
It would be his second best result of the entire season, bettered only by a fifth place in Singapore.
2023
Having been unceremoniously dumped by McLaren for fellow Aussie Oscar Piastri, Ricciardo’s role in the 2023 Australian Grand Prix was more ambassadorial than anything.
Red Bull brought him back as their reserve driver which meant he was not taking up a spot on the grid, instead Ricciardo was tasked with kissing hands and shaking babies… actually that should be the other way around.
2024
After a couple of rough results in the Middle East, Ricciardo is now back on home soil and desperate to make a mark for the V-CARB team at Albert Park this weekend.
Can he pick up his first points since Mexico last year?