Why Ricciardo is a championship contender

Daniel Ricciardo's victory in Shanghai was more than just an incredible spectacle. It announced his 2018 world championship bid, and showed that Red Bull really do have the pace to win races and potentially the tile in 2018. It was also the perfect way to bounce back from a gutting race in Bahrain, in which we never saw what Ricciardo could have been capable of. And if his rivals didn't take him as a threat seriously this year, they will now. And they should.

Pre-season testing had us all worried that Mercedes may waltz into the distance with this years titles, but it has been anything but that so far this year. Ferrari have won two of the first three races and potentially have the best package. Meanwhile Red Bull showed in Australia there was pace in the car, but thanks to being stuck behind the Haas cars and then the double retirement in Bahrain, we never really knew how fast the RB14 was. Until Shanghai that is. Thanks to superb strategy and phenomenal pace, Ricciardo was able to fight his way from sixth to win the race and take his first win of the year and show us what he and his car will be capable of.


The car alone is one reason why Ricciardo is a serious threat this year. Hampered slightly by its Renault power-unit it may be, but the Adrian Newey designed chassis is once again a top quality machine, allowing the drivers to do exactly what they want to do, when they want to do it through the corners and across a lap. Compared to where the team were in 2017, Red Bull are in much better shape chassis wise and Shanghai saw them exploit its strengths beautifully despite the power sensitive nature of the track. 2017 showed us how good Red Bull's rate of development is. They turned a so so car into a genuine race winner. They already have that race winning car right now. So what can they develop it into throughout 2018? A championship winner? They could well do so!

But it's Ricciardo's daring skill and overtaking genius that will really make him a true championship contender for the first time in F1. China showed us what a class act he is behind a wheel. His move on Lewis Hamilton at the end of the back straight, braking from so far back without a lock up or running wide was sublime. His lunge down the inside of Valtteri Bottas, with all the aggression of a honey badger was a move that you very rarely see from anyone other than the Australian. It was simply magical. 

You only have to compare it to his teammate Max Verstappen's ham-fisted attempts to get pass Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, the latter move spinning them both around and relegating Vettel to an eighth place finish. Verstappen is a fantastic racer and overtaker, but perhaps lacks the thinking that Ricciardo seems to put into his moves. Rarely do his moves not work out, at all. Ever since 2014, when he first joined Red Bull, Ricciardo's talent and class have been calling out for a title winning car. He may now finally have that machinery beneath him. 

If Daniel Ricciardo wasn't to win a world title in F1, it would be a crying shame. Right now he is at the peak of his performance and more than ready to become a world champion. With the right car, skill and daring that he has this year he may finally have his shot. And he isn't letting speculation on his future get to hi either. So Hamilton and Vettel, you'd better watch out. Because there's a new championship contender in town. His name is Daniel Ricciardo, and he takes no prisoners.