'Extremely Talented': Ricciardo Commends New Generation Of Drivers
F1Tuesday, 26 December 2023 at 02:00
Daniel Ricciardo discussed in his recent interview how young drivers entering Formula One seem more and more talented.
AlphaTauri F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo joined the sport in 2011, and in 2023, the Honey Badger concluded his 13th season in Formula One.
The 34-year-old is not the youngest on the grid anymore, but he has had the opportunity to observe the level of talent in F1 that keeps growing each and every year. He told RacingNews365:
"The young drivers coming through are extremely talented. I don't think there is going to be any young driver that isn't fast. The speed and technical feedback, the level has improved compared to ten years ago."
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As technologies keep improving, young drivers have more and more opportunities to raise their skill levels. Ricciardo pointed to 2023 Rookie of the Year Oscar Piastri, who won a sprint race in his first season.
"Drivers like Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who won a Sprint race in his first season, pretty crazy results."
The McLaren F1 team has one of the youngest line-ups on the grid, and it has been working out well for them during the 2023 season.
"The level now in F1 is always pretty high, but you really feel how high it is, and if you're not at a level of confidence in the car I think you can quickly get separated from your teammate."
Max Verstappen, the winner of the last three Drivers' Championships, is only 26 years old now. Charles Leclerc is the same age, Norris turned 24 only about a month ago, and Piastri is 22. Ricciardo continued:
"It's interesting when you look at rookies because like many sports now, it seems like the talent is getting younger and younger."
On the other hand, Fernando Alonso, who is 20 years older than Piastri, has also shown his qualities in Aston Martin when he won eight podiums this season.
"At the same time, you have older guys like Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton showing that you can still do it if you really want to. What is cool."
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