...SMILING
It’s been a tricky start to the season, following a bigmoney move from Red Bull to Renault, but if anyone can find the silver lining it’s Mr Smiley himself. We go for a drive with Danny Ric
Parked jauntily in an eerily pristine Cotswold village, the liquid-yellow, wide-boy Clio V6 looks amusingly disruptive. I’m half-expecting locals to round the corner with pitchforks, when Daniel rocks up. A little late, no biggie, he apologises, grins and everyone relaxes a notch. I’d heard his personality was infectious, but this is ridiculous, the man is a ball of positivity even at 9am, pre-caffeine. We take a drive to the Enstone factory, where he’s due in an hour’s time. TG: WHAT SHOULD WE CALL YOU? DAN? DANIEL? HONEY BADGER?
DR: Whatever you like. I mean just, Daniel. Daniel works, but dickhead also works.
TG: WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS? EVER BEEN IN A CLIO V6?
DR: No, I have not. I’ve definitely seen one before, but probably in England as opposed to Oz.
TG: NOW, I KNOW YOU’VE EXPLAINED YOUR MOVE TO RENAULT A MILLION TIMES..
DR: You’re bored already, aren’t you?
TG: I’M BORED WITH THAT STORY, SO WE’RE GOING TO START A NEW ONE. YOUR COMPANY-CAR SITUATION: YOU’VE BASICALLY TRADED IN A VALKYRIE FOR A MEGANE. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?
DR: True.
TG: DID YOU MANAGE TO GET YOUR NAME DOWN FOR A VALKYRIE WITH THE OLD EMPLOYERS?
DR: I did. I made sure I did all that before I signed the other contract.
TG: WHEN DOES THAT ARRIVE THEN?
DR: It’s a while away, but I will spec it all in the next couple of months.
TG: ARE YOU GOING TO ACTUALLY USE IT?
DR: Well, it depends on what you call ‘use it’. I’ll drive it, but will I drive it every week or will I drive it twice a year? I’m obviously not going to drive it a whole lot.
TG: WHAT KIND OF OTHER STUFF HAVE YOU OWNED?
DR: Little bits and pieces. You know, I bought my first old car not too long ago… I wanted to show my age a little bit more now, I’m turning 30 this year.
TG: GO ON, THEN. WHAT WAS IT?
DR: It’s a 275 GTS. It starts with F.
TG: WOW, NICE. BUT IF YOU DRIVE AN F1 CAR FOR A LIVING, MOST ROAD CARS MUST BE A BIT SLOW AND BAGGY, RIGHT?
DR: Well, yes and no. I love fast cars, but I’m not a massive car nut. I like driving stuff that’s different, so old cars with a stick shift and an H-pattern gearbox. Keeps me out of trouble as well. If I drove a fast car every day, I’d probably have a lot more speeding tickets.
TG: GOOD POINT, AND YOU CAN’T WIN RACES IF YOU’RE IN PRISON.
DR: True.
TG: NOW, WE CAN’T HAVE A ROADTRIP WITHOUT SOME ROAD SNACKS SO I’VE PREPARED A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR YOU HERE.
DR: I am a snacker. [Takes a box of Australia’s favourite foods] Oh. Where did you get this?
TG: I CAN’T REVEAL MY SOURCES, BUT WHY DON’T YOU TAKE US THROUGH WHAT YOU’VE GOT THERE? I’VE NEVER SEEN HALF OF THIS STUFF, BUT SUPPOSEDLY IT’S QUITE SPECIAL.
DR: All right, so, Barbecue Shapes. These are an alternative to a crisp. Oh, the Cherry Ripe. I’m probably going to eat, it’s still morning but I’m probably going to go for it. It’s basically chocolate but with, like dry coconut and kind of cherry through it. It sounds weird, but it’s delicious. OK, here’s some Tim Tams, I think they’re overrated actually.
TG: YOU JUST ALIENATED YOUR ENTIRE AUSTRALIAN FAN BASE.
DR: I’m going to have… I might eat a little bit.
TG: GO FOR IT. ALTHOUGH YOU MIGHT WANT TO HURRY UP BECAUSE THIS IS THE MOMENT WHEN I’M GOING TO SAY TO YOU: “DO YOU FANCY HAVING A DRIVE?”
DR: Oh, really? I like being a passenger. It’s funny, everyone thinks “Oh, you must want to drive all the time.” It’s actually the opposite, we like being driven because we drive. And I love music so if I’m passenger I get to control that.
TG: HONESTLY? YOU MIGHT NEVER GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO DRIVE A CLIO V6.
DR: Go on, then [swaps seats].
TG: JUST CHECKING, YOU DO KNOW HOW TO DRIVE A MANUAL?
DR: Yeah, I’m all right. Funny story, I’m not sure Max Verstappen knows how to drive. I think he was born after clutches and all that was around. I honestly want to say, if he was in this car right now, I’m not sure he would be staying afloat.
TG: WHAT DO YOU THINK?
DR: Hell of a vehicle. No, it’s actually nice. Sounds all right.
TG: HOW MUCH POWER DO YOU THINK IT HAS? HAVE A GUESS.
DR: I’m going to be so wrong here. 180bhp?
“I LOVE MONACO. YOU EITHER STARE AT THE WALLS WITH FEAR, OR YOU STARE AND SMILE”
TG: YOU DO IT A DISSERVICE. NO, 255BHP. ACTUALLY IT HAD 255BHP 15 YEARS AGO, SO PROBABLY A FEW LESS BY NOW.
DR: Can I call you Jackson?
TG: YOU CAN CALL ME WHAT YOU WANT.
DR: Cowboy Jack?
TG: COWBOY JACK, WE’LL GO WITH THAT. I’M GOING TO FIRE SOME ACTUAL QUESTIONS AT YOU, OK?
DR: Go for it.
TG: NAME YOUR THREE GREATEST F1 DRIVERS EVER, AND WHY...
DR: I’ll start with the obvious one: Senna. I admired him for the way he could differentiate himself on-track and off-track. A ruthless killer on-track, but kind of humble when he was off-track. How he could put the helmet on and switch. He didn’t have to be a complete asshole in all aspects of his life. Next… Mario Andretti, juggling F1 and racing in America. Imagine doing that these days? Alonso kind of dabbled, doing the Indy 500, but it’s not the same. Finally, I’ll say Mark Webber. Because, growing up, he gave me a realistic hope that it could be done. I was kind of seeing it first hand, with my own eyes. When I started getting closer to F1, he was the guy that I could lean on, pick up the phone, and he would give me a few words of encouragement.
TG: IF YOU HAD A TIME MACHINE AND YOU COULD GO BACK AND RACE ANY F1 CAR IN ANY ERA, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
DR: I mean, I love watching Senna’s onboard in Suzuka. I can’t remember what year it was, to be honest, but the McLaren of that year looked sick. So I guess probably late Eighties would have been cool.
TG: WHO’S BEEN YOUR FIERCEST RIVAL? VETTEL, MAX, HÜLKENBERG, SOMEONE ELSE?
DR: Growing up, it was Bottas. We raced a lot together in junior formulas. I didn’t do karting in Europe, but when I first moved to Europe, we were in the same championship, and we were competing. Obviously, Max too. We had some good battles, some clashes, some highs and lows and some intense moments. There was a rivalry there, but I consider them all healthy.
TG: GIVE US YOUR ASSESSMENT OF THE FIRST RACES OF THE SEASON
DR: Well, the first race with Renault was not what I had in the script. It lasted 100m and then I smashed the front wing. On paper it hasn’t been what we wanted, but certainly for myself, and my feeling within the team, it’s improved, dramatically.
TG: GOOD RESULT IN MONACO – THAT HAS TO BE YOUR SPECIALIST TRACK, ISN’T IT?
DR: Yeah, I love Monaco, or any street circuit. You either stare at the walls with fear, or you stare and smile. And I’ve always just smiled. I love that feeling of getting close and kissing the wall.
TG: DO YOU REALISE THAT MAKES YOU SOUND LIKE A BIT OF A PSYCHOPATH?
DR: Oh absolutely. I am. I think we’re well behaved in front of the cameras, we’ve got to be, but we are all psychos at the end of the day.
TG: IS IT TOUGH SEEING MAX ON THE PODIUM?
DR: Not at all, and I’ll be straight up with you right now. It’s stuff we’ve done before. That’s what I was doing at Red Bull – it’s nothing different, you know?
TG: DO WE NEED RULE CHANGES TO IMPROVE THE SPECTACLE?
DR: Yeah. The cars are awesome, but the problem is following. The cars are so wide, and they create such a wake, that getting close is so difficult. We just want to be able to follow and have a chance to overtake more often.
TG: OH LOOK, WE’RE HERE. DANIEL, THANK YOU.
DR: That was emotional.
TG: TAKE THESE SNACKS WITH YOU. HONESTLY. THEY’RE YOURS.
DR: I’m definitely taking them with me. It’s mother’s milk, that.
TG: OFF YOU GO.
DR: I want to finish this Cherry Ripe.
TG: I’VE ANOTHER CUSTOMER WAITING.
DR: Whatever. They’re not Daniel Ricciardo, are they?