Daniel Ricciardo Recalls the Incident With Michael Schumacher That Changed His F1 Career Forever

Daniel Ricciardo is one of the fiercest drivers in Formula One right now. He is fast, talented, and is the best overtake on the grid. But when he was coming up in the sport, he was not that confident about his skills. But there was one incident in his early F1 career which gave him the belief that he belongs in the sport.

Ricciardo made his debut in 2011 with HRT but moved to Toro Rosso for the 2012 season. He had some stellar results in that season and driven some impressive races. But he mentioned that the race that gave him confidence was the Japanese GP.

Ricciardo kept Michael Schumacher at bay on the iconic Suzuka track. The defense showed his ability behind the wheel even in an inferior car to Schumacher’s Mercedes.

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I knew that was an internal moment for me: Daniel Ricciardo

As reported by nine.com.au, the Aussie driver defended from 7-time world champion Michael Schumacher in the closing stages of the race. He stated he was impressed that he did not buckle under the pressure of Schumacher.

“The first moment, it was about 2012 and I’m about a year into my F1 career… I had Michael Schumacher behind me. He was still racing when I started, which was surreal in itself. I still can’t really believe that because he was a hero of mine growing up.” said Daniel.

“He was behind me and at the time he was in a better car and this and that, and he was also Michael Schumacher. I defended him for the last 10-15 laps and it was for the last point, so it was a top-10 [finish] which was big for me at that time in my career.

It was then when I didn’t fall under the pressure and I wasn’t overwhelmed because it was Schumacher behind me. I knew that was an internal moment for me where I was like, ‘OK, I do have what it takes to sustain the pressure and everything’.” said Ricciardo.

Schumacher praised Ricciardo for his staunch defense at the drivers’ parade of the next race. The compliment and recognition of his skills from Michael gave the much-needed boost he was looking for in the sport.

Ricciardo’s career shot up from that moment. He moved to Red Bull in 2014 and won 7 races with the team until 2018. He recently won his first race with McLaren in Monza. It would have been cool to see how Schumacher would have reacted to Daniel’s progress now.

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