Ricciardo wants to make people forget Webber at Red Bull
Finding his place alongside a four-time world champion, that's the goal Daniel Ricciardo set for himself in his first season with Red Bull in 2014. He wants to make people forget the difficult relationships the Austrian team had with his compatriot Mark Webber by having a less confrontational approach.
Next season will be a pivotal year for Daniel Ricciardo in Formula 1. After two and a half years in the sport driving backmarker cars (HRT) and then midfield cars (Toro Rosso), the Australian is diving into the deep end by joining the reigning four-time world champions. However, he’s not worried: « Sebastian [Vettel] is the man to beat with his four world titles, and I have to try to earn my place in the team. But I think they’ll leave the door open for me. »
The Australian also wants to have a new approach and try to make people forget his compatriot Mark Webber, who had a tumultuous relationship with the team: « It’s no secret to say that his relationship with the team wasn’t 100% clear. But just because we’re both Australians doesn’t mean I have a label on my back. I’m going to join Red Bull with a new approach. For my own good, I’ll go in a positive way and work for myself. It won’t rub off on me. »
Mark Webber has often been the victim of mechanical failures this year, and some might think that the team hasn’t given his car the same attention as Vettel’s. But Ricciardo disagrees with this: « When Mark had failures, I didn’t call Red Bull to say ‘Why did this happen?’. I don’t know the ins and outs, but for me, it’s mostly due to bad luck. I don’t see why they would want to make life more difficult for one of their drivers. I’m really not worried.»
