Ricciardo likened to Schumacher after Monaco win
DANIEL Ricciardo has drawn comparisons to F1 great Michael Schumacher after overcoming nightmare issues with his car to win the Monaco Grand Prix.
Holding off a challenge from Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel to claim his second win of the season, Ricciardo wrestled gremlins for more than 50 laps of the unforgiving street circuit.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was quick to compare the Australian driver to Schumacher’s epic win at Barcelona, when he drove much of that race in fifth gear.
“This is right up there with Schumacher in 1995,” Horner said on radio as Ricciardo crossed the line.
Horner later corrected himself saying he was actually referring to the German’s drive in Spain in 1994.
On lap 28, Ricciardo reported an issue serious enough for the team to consider telling him to stop the car and save the engine.
And, according to Horner, the car’s issues ran deeper than just the engine power.
“The engine guys could see from the data that the MGU-K had stopped completely,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said, referring to the part of the Renault power unit that recovers the energy generated while braking.
“At that point there was talk in the background of retiring the car ... my position was, ‘We’re leading the Monaco Grand Prix, we’ll run until this engine stops’.” The failure of the unit also meant the car’s rear brakes were overheating and in danger of catching fire.
Ricciardo was simply relieved to get “payback” for Monaco 2016 — a race he also started on pole but that was wrecked by a botched pit stop.
“Two years in the making and I finally feel redemption has arrived,” he said.
“I lost power halfway and I thought the race was over. Thanks to the team we got it back. I’m stoked.’’