“There’s Enough Races There to Figure Out”: Daniel Ricciardo Opens Up on Short Calendar, Racing Without Fans and More

So far, F1 has only confirmed 8 races for the 2020 calendar. After the race in Monza on the 6th of September, no one knows what the future holds. However, F1 officials remain hopeful that they can get in at least 18 races for this season. However, if 18 races may not be possible for one or the other reason, Renault F1 driver, Daniel Ricciardo feels 10 races is more than enough to determine a legitimate winner.

Daniel Ricciardo believes 10 races is the minimum that would be required to crown a champion in F1

Current Renault driver (and future McLaren one) had the privilege to be the first guest to appear on the new ‘In the Fast Lane‘ podcast. He opined that 10 races are enough for a champion to have no asterisk against his name. Ricciardo said, “Right now I’d say it is legit. If we only did four or five races, yeah maybe (not) so. But if we get anything from kind of 10 and above, there’s enough races there to figure out who the champion is, in my mind.”

Moreover, Ricciardo doesn’t think he would feel any different when he races this season as compared to previous ones. He said, “Obviously the atmosphere is going to be different around the paddock without the fans, at last for the first part of the season, but the reality is we’re all racing. The same drivers, the same cars.  For me, the competition isn’t going to change.”

This will be Ricciardo’s last season in a Renault. The Australian will depart for McLaren once the season ends. He’ll be looking forward to competing in the mid-field battle to determine ‘the best of the rest.’ Ricciardo would want to get more than the 54 points he managed last season. He would also want to leave the French outfit with a podium to his name, provided the team can give him a good car. Renault themselves will be hoping to close the 54 point gap that they trailed McLaren by.