Silverstone will always hold a special place in Daniel Ricciardo’s heart after the Australian made his Formula 1 debut at the venue back in 2011 when he raced for the HRT Formula 1 Team, even though the current Aston Martin Red Bull Racing driver has a love/hate relationship with the British weather.
Ricciardo admits he loves the circuit and he took a podium finish there in his first year with his current employers in 2014, although he has yet to repeat that feat in the subsequent years.
The twenty-nine-year-old Australian is genuinely excited about this years race, particularly when it comes to Copse Corner and the Maggots/Becketts sequence, which he feels will be epic with the 2018 RB14.
“My first ever F1 race was at Silverstone so it’s always a special one for me,” said Ricciardo. “I’ve always loved the circuit; it’s high speed, flowing and beautiful.
“Copse is flat and then into Maggots and Becketts is just epic, I’m genuinely so excited about this race. It’s gonna be, full, full, lift, downshift and back to full, it’s gonna be sick.
“I don’t always love the weather, but you win some, you lose some. However, it also has one of the most loyal and patriotic crowds and the place is rich in motorsport history.”
Ricciardo started at the back of the field in 2017 after stopping on track during Qualifying, but despite this fought back to finish fifth, and is now hunting his first Formula 1 victory at the track. He even had time to joke about the positivity coming from English sport at present, and he hopes to deny Lewis Hamilton another triumph at Silverstone.
“I had a fun race there last year coming from the back, it’s always been a pretty happy hunting ground for me,” said Ricciardo. “I’ve had a podium there but never a win, I might steal it from Lewis.
“He has a pretty good home record but I’ll try and get one back on the English, they are doing a bit too well in sport at the moment!”
