Ricciardo: I want to be a catalyst for positive energy

His journey to Formula 1 included four years of Renault-powered racing across the junior categories in the Formula Renault 2.0 Championship, World Series by Renault and Formula Renault 3.5, before making the step up to Formula 1 midway through the 2011 championship.

Ahead of the 29-year-old Australian's first season in yellow and black the team released the following Q&A to coincide with the launch of their 2019 Formula 1 campaign and the unveiling of the Renault RS19 which Ricciardo and teammate Nico Hulkenberg will drive starting with testing on 18 February.

Q: How excited are you to get behind the wheel of the Renault R.S.19?
DR: It’s always exciting to get behind the wheel of a new race car and begin a new season. 2019 will feel different because I’m jumping into a totally new car and a new team. There will be a lot to learn; understanding a new steering wheel, sitting in a new seat with new mechanics strapping me in and a new engineer talking to me, but that whole process is an exciting prospect. Obviously, I’d love for the R.S.19 to be the fastest car on the grid, but for now, I want to see progress on the engine from last season and ensure the team remain motivated.

Q: What, in particular, will you bring to the team?
DR: I’m here to do a job on track and drive as fast as possible. I would like to bring the team energy. I want to put a spring in everyone’s step because that’s also part of my job and also my character. I aim to be able to get the team to work that extra bit harder, put in more effort and rally everyone together. I want to be a catalyst for positive energy.

Q: Are you looking forward to being part of Renault’s racing spirit?
DR: I love racing and that’s what I’ve been doing my whole life. Renault has a massive history in motorsport, so to be part of the next step of their Formula 1 journey is an exciting challenge. People are looking forward to having me on board and I think Nico and myself will be a really good pairing to push the team onto the next step. I’m optimistic as the team will keep growing even more after impressive progress since 2016. I want to be part of this progression to score podiums in yellow.

Q: What do you know of your new team-mate, Nico Hülkenberg?
DR: I know Nico relatively well, through racing as well as living in Monaco. We’re a similar age and we’ve been around the same Formulas growing up. I rate him as a driver, I always have. He has won pretty much everything in the junior championships and that underlines his ability. I’ve always held him in high regard as a competitor and I’m looking forward to having him alongside me.

Date of Birth: 1 July, 1989 in Perth, Australia

2018
Daniel was announced as a Renault F1 Team driver in August 2018 and will make his debut at his home Grand Prix in Melbourne, Australia, in March.

Daniel finished sixth in the Drivers’ Championship after taking two race wins: the first at the Chinese Grand Prix, the second a famous triumph on the streets of Monaco.

2017
New chassis regulations were put in place ahead of the 2017 season with Daniel finishing fifth in the Drivers’ Championship. He took one win after a frenetic race in Azerbaijan, despite starting tenth on the grid and falling to the back to seventeenth after a lap one collision. Eight more podiums followed with Daniel finishing just five points off fourth place in the championship.

2016
Daniel was back on the pace after a frustrating season in 2015, ending third in the Drivers’ Championship. He took his fourth career victory in Malaysia and clinched a maiden pole position in Monaco. He finished second in the Principality, and claimed further podiums in Hungary, Germany, Belgium, Singapore, USA and Mexico.

2015
In 2015 he finished the Championship in eighth place with two podium finishes: third place in Hungary and second in Singapore.

2014
Daniel graduated to Red Bull Racing ahead of the 2014 Formula 1 season under Renault power. He took his first Formula 1 victory in Montréal, Canada, after starting from sixth on the grid. Two more wins would follow that season, Hungary and Belgium, with Daniel recording five more podiums to finish an impressive third in the Drivers’ Championship.

2011 – 2013
Daniel made his Formula 1 debut midway through the 2011 season at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone for HRT.

In 2012, Daniel, as a Red Bull Junior, joined sister team Toro Rosso and scored his first points at his home race in Australia in the opening round. He finished the season with 10 points. He again raced for Toro Rosso in 2013 with best finishes of seventh in China and Italy on the way to doubling his points tally he set the year before.

Pre-Formula 1
After starting in karting, Daniel moved to single-seaters in 2005, racing in the Formula BMW series in 2006. He finished third in the Asia category with two wins to his name. 2007 saw Daniel switch to Renault-powered machinery for the first time in the Formula Renault Italy series and Eurocup as a wildcard.

He took his first championship title in 2008 in the Formula Renault WEC following eight wins from 15 starts and finished second in the Eurocup with six wins from 18 races. He won the British Formula 3 Championship a year later and in 2010 finished second in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, while also undertaking duties as Formula 1 Test Driver for Toro Rosso.

Despite missing four races, Daniel finished fifth in the 2011 Formula Renault 3.5 Series before getting his break in Formula 1.