MOTORSPORT: Ricciardo the giant killer
Australia's new Formula One star drove a brilliant race in Hungary overnight to snatch another victory in one of the sport's epic racesNot only did he deny Ferrari and Fernando Alonso their first victory in 15 months, but behind them were the Mercedes factory cars that have dominated the season – Lewis Hamilton third, after all manner of difficulties throughout the weekend, and the fast-finishing Nico Rosberg, who Hamilton had refused, against team wishes, to let overtake him.
It had looked for quite a while that Hamilton might become the first driver in history to win a race after starting from the pit lane, but – after a fire that wrecked his qualifying and a spin on the first lap of the race – it was not to be.
It also was the first race this season that Rosberg has reached the chequered flag and not finished on the podium, although he still leads the world championship.
But this was Ricciardo's day – and another glorious day for Australia in F1.
In an epic race, Ricciardo's brilliance at the wheel was complemented by a perfect strategy from his Red Bull crew that had him on good rubber as the others struggled for grip in those thrilling closing stages.
This time he trumped the Spaniard Alonso, the master craftsman who had withstood all his challenges for fifth place in the German GP just a week before – and then paid tribute to the young Aussie as an "unbelievable" talent.
And this time Ricciardo could comprehend and delight in every moment of his success, unlike his maiden victory seven weeks earlier in Canada when he was simply stunned by the enormity of his breakthrough.
"Crossing the line today I knew what was going on a bit more and it's like I could enjoy it immediately rather than it being delayed – it was awesome," Ricciardo said.
"To have to pass guys again to win the race [having surrendered the lead when he made his second stop for fresh tyres] makes it a lot more satisfying, knowing that we did have a bit of a fight on our hands – you beauty!
"In this environment now [his fourth season in F1 but first with Red Bull Racing] I feel I am a different driver and in a way a different person, a different sportsman than I was last year.
"I've got a lot more belief in myself and it's cool.
"I definitely feel like I belong here now and I've got confidence; obviously we've converted two races into wins this year so far and I think that confidence is showing.
"I've got some friends from Australia here this weekend, so the plan was to always have a few drinks tonight, so I think we've got an excuse to now!"
Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner said Ricciardo's performance was "truly sensational".
"Starting [fourth on the grid] in wet conditions, he benefitted from being a little bit further back and being able to get in for slick tyres at the first safety car and then really managed to make his strategy work on the soft tyres through the next stages of the race," Horner said.
"We knew we'd have to make a final stop, which would put us behind Alonso and Hamilton who were trying to get to the end [without another tyre change].
"But he closed the gap down quickly and then, with some fantastic overtaking manoeuvres in the last five laps, pulled off a dramatic victory.
"Daniel drove a fantastic race. He is really impressive and he has exceeded everyone's expectations this season – probably also his own.
"The Budapest track worked to our advantage, as it is a slow circuit without long straights, so it suits the characteristics of our [Renault-powered] car – but we've also been making quite visible progress [in closing the gap to Mercedes]."
The vastly more powerful Mercs have won 9 of the 11 GPs this year and Rosberg leads Hamilton in the world championship by a narrower 11 points now.
Ricciardo and Red Bull are the only combination to have beaten them – and somehow have done it twice.
Ricciardo is 60 points behind Hamilton in third place in the championship but 43 points ahead of his four-time world champion Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel, who finished seventh in Hungary and was lucky to survive a spin coming on the start-finish straight similar to that which ended Mexican Sergio Perez's race in a concrete wall.
Alonso and the Williams team's young Finn Valterri Bottas sit between the Red Bull pair in the championship standings, with a four-week break in the season now before the Belgian GP at Spa.
F1 constructor standings – 1.Mercedes 393 points; 2. Red Bull-Renault 219; 3. Ferrari 142; 4. Williams-Mercedes 135; 5. Force India-Mercedes 98; 6. McLaren-Mercedes 97; 7. Toro Rosso-Renault 17; 8. Lotus-Renault 8; 9. Marussia-Ferrari 2.
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