Daniel Ricciardo has a lot to be proud of. Never mind that he's one of less than two dozen hot-shoes on the Formula One grid, which already sets him apart as one of the best drivers in the world. He also became one of only 105 drivers ever to win an F1 race when he took the checkered flag at the Canadian Grand Prix and one of just 73 to win multiple grands prix when he won two more last season. And perhaps most impressive of all, he beat his four-time world champion wingman Sebastian Vettel to the finish line in 14 out of 19 races last year. Impressive feats, but now the young Australian has one more feather to put in his cap.
If you caught the most recent episode of Top Gear (and apologies for the spoiler if you didn't but were still planning to), you'll have seen Ricciardo lapping the show's test track in the old Suzuki Liana they keep around just for when they have an F1 driver on the show. And Daniel beat them all.
With a time of 1:42.9, he lapped the famous route carved out of the runways at the Dunsfold Aerodrome an impressive 0.7 seconds faster than Lewis Hamilton (who beat him to the championship last season), nearly a second faster than his own predecessor and countryman Mark Webber and a whopping 1.8 seconds faster than his former team-mate Vettel. It's also way beyond what either of the previous Stigs have managed in the same car. (Although it's an apples-to-oranges comparison, for what it's worth only a few stars ever lapped the track faster in a "reasonably priced car," and those were in the faster Kia Cee'd.)
With all those bragging rights under his cap, all that's left for Ricciardo to do now is win the world championship. And while it may yet take a couple of seasons, he's just 25 years old, and we wouldn't be at all surprised if he gets there before he retires.
If you caught the most recent episode of Top Gear (and apologies for the spoiler if you didn't but were still planning to), you'll have seen Ricciardo lapping the show's test track in the old Suzuki Liana they keep around just for when they have an F1 driver on the show. And Daniel beat them all.
With a time of 1:42.9, he lapped the famous route carved out of the runways at the Dunsfold Aerodrome an impressive 0.7 seconds faster than Lewis Hamilton (who beat him to the championship last season), nearly a second faster than his own predecessor and countryman Mark Webber and a whopping 1.8 seconds faster than his former team-mate Vettel. It's also way beyond what either of the previous Stigs have managed in the same car. (Although it's an apples-to-oranges comparison, for what it's worth only a few stars ever lapped the track faster in a "reasonably priced car," and those were in the faster Kia Cee'd.)
With all those bragging rights under his cap, all that's left for Ricciardo to do now is win the world championship. And while it may yet take a couple of seasons, he's just 25 years old, and we wouldn't be at all surprised if he gets there before he retires.
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