Daniel Ricciardo is renown in the Formula One paddock for the big smile he normally wears.
It was especially wide in Abu Dhabi last November as he prepared to complete his third-from-last race for Toro Rosso, before he moved to their sister team, the all-conquering Red Bull Racing, to partner world champion Sebastian Vettel.
On paper, becoming teammates with a man who had just sealed his fourth successive drivers’ championship and was in the midst of the greatest single-season winning streak the sport had seen did not look the greatest move.
But beneath the happy-go-lucky persona and the friendly demeanour is a very serious competitor, and someone who is never going to be in awe of Vettel.
Asked how he would approach life at Red Bull, he told The National: “I have got here on merit and I do not think I should change anything too much.”
Move ahead seven months to Sunday and Ricciardo stood on the top step of the podium for the first time in F1 as he won the Canadian Grand Prix.
While there was a degree of fortune in the result the victory was deserved, largely for how Ricciardo has handled business this year and the fact he has consistently out-performed Vettel.
Ricciardo, 24, has adapted better to the new regulations for 2014 than has his illustrious teammate and the RB10 has proven much more to his liking.
Such has been his speed, which has twice seen Vettel asked to move aside in races this season to let him pass, that it was a surprise when Vettel out-qualified him in Montreal.
But in the race it again was Ricciardo who had the superior pace and he was in the prime position to pick up on the misfortune that would hit both Mercedes-GP cars, who between them had won the season’s first six races.
Lewis Hamilton was forced to stop with brake problems, while championship leader Nico Rosberg was hit by both brake and engine problems, which slowed his pace considerably in the second half of the race.
In the early stages of the race the Mercedes cars were up to a one second per lap faster than anyone else, but the reliability that has a hallmark this season let them down, and Ricciardo was there to pounce as he passed Rosberg for the lead on Lap 68 of the 70-lap event, as the German nursed his car to the finish line.
Second, and 18 points, was still an excellent result for Rosberg, under the circumstances, and with Hamilton not scoring, he is now 22 points clear in the championship.
But while Rosberg had every reason to be upbeat on the podium, he exhibited nothing like the sheer joy of Ricciardo’s face as he tried to take in his first victory, in his 57th race since he made his debut with Marussia in 2011.
It is hard to begrudge the man from Perth his success, given how he has driven and conducted himself this season, in and out of the car.
He put a brave face on being disqualified from his home race in Australia in the opening race of the season, due to a fuel flow issues on the Red Bull, after he had finished second.
He also remained calm when Vettel initially refused to let him pass in China despite being quicker, then refusing to criticise his teammate to the media despite being given ample opportunity to do so.
He has been the best of the rest after the Mercedes drivers in the past month, so it was fitting he stepped up when, for once, the championship contenders both misfired.
The challenge for Ricciardo is to keep it up. This feels like a one-off as the Red Bull still are nowhere near the pace of Mercedes. It is not the start of a championship challenge, unless Renault can find some more speed in their engine package to give Red Bull a chance of competing with their rivals on straight-line speed.
That is something the Austrian team badly lacks at present and was evidenced in Ricciardo’s difficulties in passing Sergio Perez’s Force India in the second half of the race, despite the Mexican being on older tyres.
But continuing to beat Vettel and taking advantage of any problems that hit Hamilton and Rosberg will ensure Ricciardo’s stock will be at a high come the end of the season.
gcaygill@thenational.ae
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