Daniel Ricciardo: I would reduce the size of the cars again

Daniel Ricciardo is still recovering from a left hand injury he suffered in Zandvoort at the end of August, and this period will continue for many weeks, meaning he will miss not only the upcoming stage in Singapore, but probably also the Japanese Grand Prix.

But the Australian is once again not seen as a reservist, but as a full-fledged championship driver, and AlphaTauri management is already making it clear that they have plans for him for 2024.

The fact that Ricciardo is one of the most experienced professionals in the paddock is undisputed, and from the height of his twelve and a half seasons in Formula 1, he is fully entitled to his assessment of certain aspects of the sport.

Shortly before the injury, he took part in the recording of the P1 video podcast, where he was a guest of popular British journalist Matt Gallagher and answered questions from fans. Among the downright funny and cheerful questions there were also several serious ones, in particular at the end of the program he was asked to name one thing he would be the first to change in modern Formula 1.

“I think my answer to this question may have changed over the years,” Daniel said. – On the one hand, I want to ensure that the cars of different teams are closer to each other in terms of speed. As a racer I would only welcome this as it would put us all on equal footing. But at the same time I believe that Formula 1 still has something like a hierarchy.

But actually I would rather change something else. I liked the cars we raced in 2014-2016 the most because they were narrower and shorter. This is where I most enjoyed chasing and overtaking my rivals’ cars.

It seems to me that it was even easier then, despite the fact that the cars of the current generation were specially designed so that they were easier to chase. So I would change the size of the cars and make them smaller again.”