Daniel Ricciardo
The Red Bull Racing driver put in consistent performances at the weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix to take the first ever pole position of his Formula One career. The Australian has had race wins before but never a pole position, something he achieved at a venue considered Formula One’s most prestigious.
He was a strong competitor even on race day despite being pitted against a significantly more powerful Mercedes, and despite reigning double world champion Lewis Hamilton constantly on his tail, Ricciardo maintained a fair lead over the Briton.
In the end, the Australian was let down by a shoddy pit stop; with pit crew reacting very late to the driver’s pit lane entry, Ricciardo lost valuable time – and a lead he was completely unable to regain. He attempted to push against Hamilton in the dying laps of the race, but the time he lost was far too much for him to make up.
Hamilton, with strong racing and consistency, would win a race that arguably would have had Ricciardo’s name on it but saw him let down by his crew.