Melbourne: Put “baby-faced assassin” Daniel Ricciardo behind the wheel of a Mercedes and there would be no doubt he would take the Formula One title race to the wire, according to compatriot Alan Jones, Australia’s last world champion.
The only driver to have beaten Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg to the top of the podium this campaign, Ricciardo won a dramatic Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday to seal his second victory of the season, underlining his class with a high-quality drive and further shading Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel.
Ricciardo’s success has raised Australian hopes of a first F1 title-holder since Jones’s 1980 triumph and the former Williams driver said the expectation was justified.
“He’s a contender, there’s no doubt about it,” the 67-year-old told Reuters in a phone interview.
“He’s not a contender this year obviously because Mercedes have got the jump on everyone. Get him a good car next year. If you put that [Mercedes engine] in that Red Bull, he would be a contender.
“Or get him a Mercedes, because he’s proven he can qualify consistently in the top four. He can run up there with the best of them. He doesn’t pile up the road or have any accidents.”
After a two-year apprenticeship with feeder team Toro Rosso, Ricciardo has proved a revelation this season, mounting the podium five times, including a maiden win in Canada last month.
Sunday’s win at Hungaroring put him third in the standings behind the Mercedes pair, 71 points adrift of Rosberg and 60 below Hamilton with eight races remaining.
While Ricciardo has benefited from Safety Car interventions in both victories, his calm in a frenetic finish in Hungary, in which the top four drivers were separated by little more than six seconds, left few in doubt he belongs in the A-grade.
Ricciardo has also had to vie for top honours with a Renault engine, which remains well off the pace of the Mercedes power unit, according to team principal Christian Horner.
“I think Daniel’s drive was exemplary,” Jones said. “He did a really super job in looking after his tyres, displayed a lot of maturity and I think he’s well and truly cemented himself in the team now.”
