Ricciardo on course to join Australia’s F1 heroes

The meteoric rise to stardom of Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo has stuttered somewhat of late, but anyone harbouring concerns about the 26-year-old’s driving ability need only speak to Mark Webber to have those doubts allayed.

Ricciardo took the place of Webber at Infiniti Red Bull Racing back at the beginning of the 2014 Formula One season, and in his first term at the then world champions, he enjoyed a roaring success alongside four-time title winner, Sebastian Vettel.

Ricciardo notched three grand prix victories in 2014, becoming only the fourth Australian ever to clinch first place when he won the Canadian Grand Prix back in June of that year. He then added a further win to his record a month later in Hungary. A superb third victory in Belgium in August rounded of a great first season for Ricciardo at Red Bull.

In 2015, Ricciardo has managed only two podiums, compared to his eight in 2014, and he has yet to secure a victory this season after 17 races, and fans will be hoping he improves next season as they back him at online destinations in the search of winnings to spend playing games at the likes of 32Red Australia. Ricciardo is at the time of writing rated a 40/1 outsider for the Drivers' Championship in 2016.

But, despite a more subdued second season at Red Bull, and the ongoing concerns regarding the engine supplier, he is still being backed to the hilt by Webber, who describes him as “sensational”.

Should Ricciardo continue to develop as a driver, he will surely defy the odds that bookmakers like 32Red and BetVictor.com currently offer on him, and he will join the ranks of Australia’s greatest ever Formula One drivers.

Sir Jack Brabham

Jack Brabham

The world of Formula One lost a true legend when Jack Brabham passed away in May 2014, at the age of 88. Australia, meanwhile, lost one of its greatest ever sporting performers.

From a background racing midgets in the dusty fields and wastelands of Australia, ‘Black Jack’, as he was affectionately known, rose to become not only a hugely talented, successful Formula One driver, but also a highly accomplished team owner and engineer.

In 1966, his Formula One World Championship title earned him the additional honour of being the only driver to have ever won the competition in a car that he had manufactured himself. By that time, Brabham already had two World Championship titles safely in his trophy cabinet, having driven to victory in 1959 and 1960.

Brabham’s legacy lives on in his sons, who all achieved racing success, and now in his grandchildren Matthew and Sam, who have embarked upon racing careers.

Alan Jones

Alan Jones

Apart from Brabham, Alan Jones is the only Australian driver to have won the World Drivers’ Championship of Formula One, and Jones’ title in 1980 remains the most recent Australian title victory.

Jones, whose last Formula One race was on home soil at the Australian Grand Prix of 1986, is from racing stock. His father, Stan Jones, won the Australian Grand Prix in 1959.

Alan Jones was already 29 by the time he competed in his first Formula One grand prix, at Montjuic in Spain in 1975 – a race that resulted in the tragic death of five spectators.

It was a less than auspicious start, but Jones’ career went from strength to strength as part of Graham Hill’s racing team, and then at Williams. Seven victories in 1980 landed him the world title, and he can now reflect proudly on a career that brought him 12 wins and 24 podium finishes from 116 starts.

Mark Webber

Mark Webber at Monaco

It hardly seems two minutes since Mark Webber made his Formula One debut at the Australian Grand Prix in 2002, where he earned Minardi’s first points in three years.

Webber consistently outperformed his Minardi teammates and was a notable success as a driver for a team that rarely challenged for honours, but he got the chance to taste glory when he moved to Red Bull, where he claimed his first Formula One victory in the German Grand Prix of 2009.

Sites like F1BettingOdds.com occasionally offer markets on the chances of Webber returning to Formula One, but he is now a competitor in the FIA World Endurance Championship, and can reflect on a Formula One career that delivered nine wins, 42 podium finishes, and more than a thousand career points, making him well-placed to offer advice to Ricciardo, whom he has told to weather the storm at Red Bull.

Webber holds the honour of having competed in more Formula One races than any other Australian driver, and he managed a third place finish in the drivers’ championship on three separate occasions.

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