Why F1's smiling fighter can take McLaren to the next level
Daniel Ricciardo is one of the few proven grand prix winners on the current Formula 1 grid. It's been a while since he stood on the top step of the podium but, as he tells Autosport, he knows he can do the job - both for Renault now and McLaren next year
It speaks volumes for the frequency and authenticity of Daniel Ricciardo's famous smile that Formula 1 has still seen plenty of it since 27 May 2018. That was the day he won the Monaco Grand Prix for Red Bull - his seventh F1 triumph. It was a race of redemption for the Australian, after he had painfully missed out on victory in the same race two years earlier. Leaving Monaco, he was within touching distance of the championship lead - third behind Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, with more than double the points total of team-mate Max Verstappen.
Come the end of the season, Ricciardo languished in sixth, bottom of 'Class A' by 77 points. Verstappen had won twice after Monaco, but Ricciardo had done no better than six fourths, his summer and season run-in dogged by nightmares.
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