Australian F1 ace Daniel Ricciardo takes his Red Bull indoors in stunning video, even crushing the 750-horsepower beast on dirt roads.
- Daniel Ricciardo drove a Red Bull RB7 around the inside
- The Australian also brought down the Sea Cliff Bridge in New South Wales
- His journey ended at Mount Panorama, the home of the Bathurst 1000
Daniel Ricciardo may not be on the grid at Albert Park for the Australian Grand Prix this weekend, but that hasn’t stopped him from driving a Formula 1 car for his home country.
The Australian returned to Red Bull as their reserve driver this season after parting ways with McLaren late last year and was back in the cockpit under highly unusual conditions.
The eight-time Grand Prix winner put a Red Bull RB7, the car with which Sebastian Vettel won the 2011 world championship, to the test by driving it through inland Queensland and New South Wales before finishing at the famous Mount Panorama. .
The road trip begins with Ricciardo driving through the desert, before heading to a cattle station in the outback, where off-road driver Daniel Sanders offers a quick tutorial on how to navigate Australia’s famous bull dust.
The journey even includes a fully crewed pit stop in the inland town of Broken Hill as a courtesy, before the Australian tests the car on the Sea Cliff Bridge on the New South Wales coast.
Daniel Ricciardo took the Red Bull RB7 for a spin through the Australian outback
The Formula 1 car was equipped with special tires to deal with the rocky terrain.
The Australian drove the Formula 1 car in the Queensland outback alongside off-road driver Toby Price for a steeplechase.
“I always wanted the chance to do this in Australia,” Ricciardo said.
‘There is nothing that compares to Australian conditions; we had a lot of fun touring the inland and across the sea cliff bridge
Ricciardo then moves north of the border to Queensland, where he meets off-road racer Toby Price for an obstacle course, while driving the Red Bull past tractors and combines.
The journey through Australia ends in a place more suitable for a Formula 1 car when the 33-year-old meets three-time Supercar champion Shane Van Gisbergen at Mount Panorama.
However, while there’s nothing wrong with talking about the sight of Ricciardo racing around the Bathurst 1000 house followed by Van Gisbergen in his Red Bull Ampol Camaro, it’s almost as weird as him driving around inside.
Red Bull finished on top of the podium in the first two races of the season, with Max Verstappen triumphing in Bahrain and Sergio Pérez winning in Saudi Arabia ahead of his teammates.
While the season is still in its infancy, Red Bull is already looking miles ahead of the competition and favorites to win a third consecutive world title and Ricciardo is confident they can keep up the momentum in Melbourne.
“The track is looking great, and I hope our investigation into the road trip will give the team the edge it needs,” he said.
The Australian also brought down the Sea Cliff Bridge in his RB7, with stunt pilot Matt Hall following close behind.
Ricciardo said he had always dreamed of driving around Australia in an F1 car.
Ricciardo’s road trip even included a fully staffed pit stop at the Silverton Hotel in Broken Hill.
Ricciardo’s road trip through Australia proved to be the ultimate test for the RB7, with which Sebastian Vettel won the 2011 World Championship.
The road trip ended at Mount Panorama, where Ricciardo competed with three-time Supercars champion Shane Van Gisbergen.
And Red Bull boss Christian Horner has downplayed any friction between Verstappen and Perez, after the latter raised concerns about his team’s communication in the closing laps of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
“We have two very mature drivers who work well together, they have worked well together before,” he said.
“We discussed the race before the race and said, ‘Look, you’re free to race today, but the rules of engagement are team first, respect each other, respect the cars you drive.
‘Us [wanted] bring home maximum points and we’ve done it.’