F1 Rewind: Daniel Ricciardo Asks Journalist to Shut Up on Live TV

Season 2019 saw its heroes and losers. Youngsters like Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris rose to occasion while veterans like Sebastian Vettel Romain Grosjean fell through. For Australian F1 Driver, Daniel Ricciardo, it was a mix season with both highs and lows.

For many races he had a forgetful running with the Renault car barely managing to finish in points. From being P4 in 2018, they fell to P5 after McLaren got their act together.

Probably the worst race of the season for Ricciardo was his home race – the 2019 Australian Grand Prix. Poor guy had the worst possible luck at his home grand prix. His front wing got destroyed just minutes after the start after taking a trip to the grass. Even though he pitted and got a new one soon after, the pace of the car wasn’t there. Renault confirmed he damaged his sidepods which impacted his pace.

Nonetheless, post race, Ricciardo was his usual self. Smiling, chirping around, coming face to face with whatever happened.  It was not his poor luck that we wanted to highlight, but how he came fighting back all smiling. This is the kind of attitude that we need from all F1 drivers. During one such post race interviews, an incident happened which still cracks us up.

He was giving an interview when a reporter behind started talking. He got a bit irritated and with a broadest smile asked the reporter behind to “Shut the **** up”

Now any other driver would have done that, it would have been considered rude. But for someone like Ricciardo, considering the type of amiable personality that he is, it was shrugged off without much of a fuss.

However, his good mood didn’t much continue into the season. As mentioned, his team was way off the pace and Ricciardo struggled to cope up with the change. At Red Bull he was fighting for podiums and race wins, but at Renault he had to fight for his life for a few points. The midfield is a tight place and for him to make an impact with the French car was impossible in 2019.

For 2020, the team has brought up Esteban Ocon to partner Ricciardo. If their fortunes change or remain the same, is anybody’s guess.