Ricciardo names his five most underrated F1 rivals

Daniel Ricciardo has named five drivers he has raced against during his Formula 1 car🦄eer ไas his most underrated rivals.

With the 2020 F1 seaඣson delayed by the ongoing coronavirus crisis, Ricciardo has reflected on his F1 career so far and picked🦹 out the drivers he thinks were unfancied, for a variety of reasons, when looking back on their respective careers.

Topping the Renault driver’s list is former Sauber and Caterham driver Marcus Ericsson who Ricciardo often battled during his junior career bef🦋ore reaching F1.

Ricciardo names his five most underrated F1 rivals

Daniel Ricciardo has named fiveꦉ drivers he has raced against during his Formula 1 career as his most underrated rဣivals.

With the 2020 F1 season delayed by the ongoing coronavirus crisis, Ricciardo has reflected on his F1 career so far and picked out the drivers he thinks were unfancied, for a variety of reasons, when looking back o🎉n their resp✱ective careers.

Topping the Renault driver’s list is former 🌄Sauber and Caterham driver Marcus Ericsson who Ricciardo often battled during his junior career before reaching F1.

“As a junior Marcus wa🎐s very highly rated and I felt like that reputation didn’t really last when he was in Formula 1,” Ricciardo said in a letter posted from his Twitter account. “The speed though, that was definitely there.”

Another notable name Ricciardo picks is the late Jules Bianchi w🦄ho he felt was destined for F1 gr🍎eatness before his tragic death following his accident at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.

The Australian driver has compared Charles Leclerc to Bianchi, who was the Ferrari driver’s godfather, and says the succe☂ss Leclerc is currently producing is what he expected Bianchi ꦉto being doing.

“I feelౠ Charles is doing now what Jules would hav🥃e been doing,” Ricciardo said. “It’s like Charles is the delayed version of what Jules would have done with the success he’s having.”

Also making Ricciardo’s underrated F1 driver list is his first teammate in the sport Tonio Liuzzi when the pair were ꧅at opposite ends of their respective careers in 2011.

Ricciardo 𒈔says Liuzzi “was the Schumacher of karting” when he was growing up but admits he underestimated the Italian’s speed when they were teammates at HR🃏T.

“♉I remember Budapest my firs🦩t year, 2011, and I thought I’d nailed my qualifying lap and he still pipped me, and I was thinking, ‘alright, this guy is quick’. For raw speed, 100 per cent he had it,” he explained.

Completing his list is Robert Merhi, who spent one season racing in F1 in 2015, andಞ 2009 world champion Jenson🌌 Button.

Ricciardo says Merhi was another hotly-tipped youngster, having won the 2011 Formula 3 Euro Series title, but his dꦚ🐲riving style never suited the F1 cars when he made his debut.

Button, ꦑon the other hand, is a driver whose talents Ricciardo feels were not highly thought of during his career. But instead of picking out his title-winning 2009 F1 season, Ricciardo says he was most impressed by his 2011 campaign when he beat Lewis Hamilton when the pair were McLaren teammates.

“Jenson had s♏ome big years in F1, but I think 2꧑011 when he was teammates with Lewis at McLaren and beat Lewis fair and square – that’s no easy feat as we all know – was what gets him onto my list,” he explained.

Ricciardo also gave h🍌onourable mentions to Robert Kubica and💧 Paul Di Resta while teasing a second list of his five most overrated drivers.

“I’ve got one,” he said. “But I’ll keep t🍬hat one in my own headꦍ until I’m done racing…”

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