Formula One has seen both sides of Daniel Ricciardo this year.
The happy, easy-going, affable personality remains at the forefront, as it has been since he arrived in the series in 2011.
But in Monaco in May, the sport saw that beneath the grins and the humorous banter is a steely racer desperate to win and be the best as he struggled to hide his devastation at missing out on a race victory through no fault of his own.
You did not have to be a body language expert on the podium in Monte Carlo to see how devastated the Red Bull Racing driver was after he finished second behind the Mercedes-GP of Lewis Hamilton when a slow pit stop lost him the lead. Looking back at it now, he believes the despair only strengthened his resolve.
"Once the disappointment wore off, which sure hung around for a few days, once I got over that, I feel like I had built myself up again," he told The National during an interview in Japan last month in Red Bull's hospitality centre at the Suzuka circuit.
“I know it sounds a bit cliched, but I became stronger from it and it made the victory in Malaysia that bit more emotional. I am not going to say better as winning in Monaco would have been amazing but the feeling was great.”
More Formula One:
• Title race: Lewis Hamilton vows to 'hunt' Nico Rosberg in Abu Dhabi
• Max Verstappen: Compared to F1 greats 'special' drive in Brazil
• Brazil GP gallery: Hamilton triumphs in the rain, Massa bids farewell
After a number of near misses, Ricciardo’s hunt for an elusive fourth triumph in an era of Mercedes domination — after he had won three times in his first year with Red Bull in 2014 — was fulfilled in Malaysia when he led home a Red Bull one-two ahead of teammate Max Verstappen.
Ricciardo, 27, had gone close to victory in Hungary, Singapore and the United States in 2015, and then this year in Spain, Monaco and Singapore, so his perseverance finally paid off.
“I have felt very good within myself in terms of the level I have been driving at and it has been recognised, but I would have hated to go through 2016 with zero victories,” said Ricciardo, who is third in the championship and best non-Mercedes driver.
“Last year I didn’t win, but we didn’t really have what we had this year. This year especially with the package we have got and also with the way I have been driving, I think it needed a victory and now it has completed the season.”
Ricciardo is not content simply to be an occasional race winner. His ambitions are much higher than that.
Becoming world champion, or at least challenging for the title, is his goal for 2017, when he hopes a shake-up in the rules with aerodynamic changes designed to quicken the lap speeds of the cars by up to five seconds, as well as wider tyres, will allow Red Bull to fight at the front more consistently.
Asked if a tilt at becoming Australia’s first champion since Alan Jones in 1980 is the next goal, Ricciardo nods his head and replies “absolutely”.
“It is nice to have ticked every other box for now but the big one is that,” he said. “We are all hopeful that can be next year, at least to fight for that.
“We want to really put it up to Mercedes. We are not trying to think too far ahead but we are trying to build a car, and we are on the simulator trying to help make that into a title-winning thing next year.”
Since F1 moved to the 1.6 litre turbocharged V6 engine specification at the start of 2014, the chances to be on the top step of the podium have been limited for Ricciardo, and everyone else in the field who does not drive a Mercedes-GP car.
The German marque have dominated, and Red Bull, despite having one of the strongest chassis on the grid, have been hurt by the Renault engines they use, which lack the horsepower of their German rival.
The French engine manufacturer has raised their game in 2016, and while still not a match for Mercedes, their power units, branded as TAG-Heuer, have allowed Red Bull to compete with Ferrari for the best of the rest honours.
Six podiums, with one win and four runner-up spots, show that Ricciardo is maximising his chances to fight at the front, and that is something he takes pride in.
“We haven’t had many opportunities,” he said. “Mercedes are the one having the opportunity every weekend and when it does come up it is few and far between at times. I just want to make the most of that.
“Even if I haven’t always pulled off the win, I have tried and I haven’t left a race on Sunday wondering, so I guess that has been a strength of mine in the last few years.”
Another reason for Ricciardo’s desire to get a win this year was that the man who he now shares a garage with, Verstappen, already had one to his name.
The Dutch teenager was victorious in his first race in Spain after being brought in from Toro Rosso to replace the under-performing Daniil Kvyat. Ricciardo led in Spain until the team’s decision to move him to a three-stop strategy backfired and he finished fourth.
Ricciardo and Verstappen, 19, have proven to be two of the most closely matched teammates on the grid, and the Australian relishes the competition between them, despite feeling a little old in the process.
“I Instagrammed some photos that we took with some kids in Japan and I said it was Max with his classmates, and he replied ‘Alright, Grandpa’, so I do feel a bit older with Max around, but it has been really good for both of us,” he said.
“We have definitely pushed each other week in week out. I just think in competition terms it has been amazing.
“The truth is we are getting on as well as we can, while still having that fire in us and wanting to beat each other. We have a great balance.”
Yas Marina Circuit race-goers will have the chance to meet Ricciardo at one of the autograph sessions over the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix race weekend, and if past form is anything to go by he will be good company for those who get to see him in person.
He had a large crowd of fans in Malaysia laughing last month after admitting that he and Red Bull had been “hopeless” in the 2015 race as he previewed the event he would go on to win, and “if I wake up tomorrow I already have a better chance of doing better” — a refreshingly jovial outlook in a sport that so often takes itself too seriously.
Of his goal to smile as often as he can, Monaco disappointments apart, he said: “For me, I guess it is a bit easier as I don’t like being that serious and I don’t like being boring.
“I know when it comes down to it, when I have the helmet on I am going to do what I can, but I think to have a bit of a joke and take some things light-hearted is not only good for the fans to see but it is good for yourself.”
However, beyond the jokes, is a motivated individual eager to kick on and achieve further success.
He is looking to take some momentum into the winter break and is looking for a strong finish in Abu Dhabi, where his best result is fourth, in 2014, when he came through from the back of the field after a grid penalty.
Given his car’s form this year, Ricciardo believes he can score a first top-three finish at the race on November 27.
“It is a circuit I have always enjoyed and been quick on,” he said. “I just have sort of gelled with that circuit and I am looking forward to it.
“I have never had a podium there and I definitely think we can be on there this year and I think if I drive like I have in the past at that track then a podium should be on the cards.”
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport
