Formula One: Ricciardo’s trademark smile just got bigger

Red Bull driver ecstatic after maiden F1 win in Canada.

SYDNEY: Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo Monday tweeted the broadest smile in Formula One after claiming his maiden Formula One weekend victory for Red Bull in the Canadian Grand Prix.

“I officially can’t smile any bigger than that, so you’ve seen it all now,” tweeted a beaming Ricciardo on social media after his breakthrough victory in Montreal on Sunday.

The 24-year-old Australian took full advantage of power and electrical problems that hit both championship leader Nico Rosberg and his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton in the closing stages to claim a stirring triumph.

Ricciardo is the fourth driver from Australia to record a Formula One victory, earning his place alongside greats Jack Brabham, Alan Jones and his predecessor at Red Bull, Mark Webber.

It was Ricciardo’s third consecutive podium finish after coming third in Spain and Monaco, and it puts him in third position in the drivers’ championship behind the Mercedes pair of Rosberg and Hamilton.

Hamilton aims to bounce back in title race

Hamilton cast aside his disappointment after being forced to retire from Sunday race and pledged to bounce back with another run of wins to regain the lead in this year’s championship.

“I have fallen behind before and I caught up, so I will just have to do it all over again,” he said, after a non-finish at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, normally one of his favourite venues, left him 22 points behind teammate Rosberg. After seven of this year’s 19 races, Rosberg has collected two wins to Hamilton’s four, but the 29-year-old Briton’s two non-finishes have cost him dearly.

“Naturally, for the team, I don’t want either car not to finish so hopefully we don’t have any issues on either car for the rest of the year,” added Hamilton.“That obviously means I’ll have even more work to do to make up the lost ground, probably another four wins, and I’ll do what I can to get those. AFP

Published in The Express Tribune, June 10^th, 2014.

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