I had been meaning to do this after getting into a shitstorm about it after the French GP. happy eagle's post on the Hungarian GP thread about whether it was wirthwhile staying at RB reminded me to do so.
Personally, I reckon Ricciardo hasn't pulled his weight this year. He's made some blunders that have been costly. He's moved from being in the 3rd best car in the "top tier" to being the better of the "2nd tier" teams. Because of it, he has to change his style in how he goes about racing.
With RB being the 3rd best of the top teams, you get maximum value for being ultra aggressive, because you're not under threat from the 2nd tier teams. But in a Renault, there's not much to gain from trying hard/er and going for it. But there's a bit to lose because you're in a cluster of middle ranked teams.
With the middle/back end teams, your results are dictated by the adversity of those ahead. So overall results are not necessarily an indicator of how you're going. This is highlighted by Kyvat being the only guy from outside the top 3 to get a podium, and Kubica being ahead of Russell in the points, despite trailing 2-9 in the head to head with him.
But what the table shows is that Ricciardo hasn't picked up enough green squares, and that's on him. Sainz, Kyvat and Raikkonen are all considered to have had good seasons despite a 23pt discrepancy. Sainz and Raikkonen have 7 green square and Kyvat 5 with a podium. Ricciardo has 4.
But it didn't have to be 4. Ricciardo flopped at Australia, Azerbaijan and France. These missed opportunities are not Renault's fault. There were points paying positions available at all those races, which would've brought him up to the 7 green squares which would be comparable to having a good season like the other drivers. Both Sainz and Raikkonen have blocks of 3 & 4 consecutive points finishes. That's very good and that's the crap Ricciardo should be focussing on.
Outside the top teams, Ricciardo's 4th qualifying and 6th in the race at Canada is the single best performance. But it gets lost in amongst the howlers in Australia, Azerbaijan and France.
It's best he channels his inner "Frentzen 1999 season" to limit the possible damage to his reputation the inconsistent first half of the season could bring.
Personally, I reckon Ricciardo hasn't pulled his weight this year. He's made some blunders that have been costly. He's moved from being in the 3rd best car in the "top tier" to being the better of the "2nd tier" teams. Because of it, he has to change his style in how he goes about racing.
With RB being the 3rd best of the top teams, you get maximum value for being ultra aggressive, because you're not under threat from the 2nd tier teams. But in a Renault, there's not much to gain from trying hard/er and going for it. But there's a bit to lose because you're in a cluster of middle ranked teams.
With the middle/back end teams, your results are dictated by the adversity of those ahead. So overall results are not necessarily an indicator of how you're going. This is highlighted by Kyvat being the only guy from outside the top 3 to get a podium, and Kubica being ahead of Russell in the points, despite trailing 2-9 in the head to head with him.
But what the table shows is that Ricciardo hasn't picked up enough green squares, and that's on him. Sainz, Kyvat and Raikkonen are all considered to have had good seasons despite a 23pt discrepancy. Sainz and Raikkonen have 7 green square and Kyvat 5 with a podium. Ricciardo has 4.
But it didn't have to be 4. Ricciardo flopped at Australia, Azerbaijan and France. These missed opportunities are not Renault's fault. There were points paying positions available at all those races, which would've brought him up to the 7 green squares which would be comparable to having a good season like the other drivers. Both Sainz and Raikkonen have blocks of 3 & 4 consecutive points finishes. That's very good and that's the crap Ricciardo should be focussing on.
Outside the top teams, Ricciardo's 4th qualifying and 6th in the race at Canada is the single best performance. But it gets lost in amongst the howlers in Australia, Azerbaijan and France.
It's best he channels his inner "Frentzen 1999 season" to limit the possible damage to his reputation the inconsistent first half of the season could bring.
