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How a life-changing conversation with F1 icon Michael Schumacher helped set a young Daniel Ricciardo on the path to motorsport stardom: ‘I thought it was God’
- Ricciardo stopped Schumacher while chasing points at the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix
- Aussie rated it one of the three best drives of his Formula One career.
- He has revealed how the icon’s words of encouragement affected him
Daniel Ricciardo has revealed how he got a huge confidence boost when legendary driver Michael Schumacher gave him some choice words of encouragement when he was just starting out in the sport.
The Australian F1 star was driving for Toro Rosso in 2012, his first year in the sport, aged just 23, when he managed to hold off the German great for 17 laps as they chased points at the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.
Ricciardo finished tenth, earning the final points of the race, calling the effort one of the three best of his career, saying he surprised himself with his ability to hold his own against the seven-time world champion.
‘I was still intimidated by him at the time. Obviously I was like, he’s god,’ Ricciardo recalled.
Ricciardo, pictured in the pits at the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix, rated his performance that year at Suzuka as one of the top three of his career after holding off Michael Schumacher.
That year marked the German icon’s last in the sport after he ended a brief retirement to race for Mercedes (pictured), and his words had a huge impact on the young Australian.
But what happened in the next race would stick with the Perth-born star forever.
“That was a very important race for me, which is not talked about because I finished 10th,” he said. speedcafe. “But personally, for me, it was really big.
‘It was followed by him congratulating me [at] the next race in the drivers’ parade. I remember him coming up and saying, ‘Nice job defending last week.’
‘That, for me, to get a bit of confirmation from someone like that, at that age and at that point in my career, was huge.
The lives of the two drivers took radically different paths after that season, with Ricciardo moving up to Red Bull in 2013 to replace fellow Australian Mark Webber (pictured together)
Schumacher was killed in a horrific skiing accident in December 2013, put into a medically induced coma and is now being cared for by his wife and a medical team.
“Maybe he didn’t realize what he was doing at the time, but it boosted my confidence a lot.”
It would be Schumacher’s last season in F1 after coming out of short retirement to race for Mercedes for two years.
In December 2013, he suffered a terrible skiing accident that put him in a medically induced coma.
He was brought to the family’s Lake Geneva home in September 2014, where a team of medical staff now supports his wife Corinna in caring for the 53-year-old.
Ricciardo drove for Toro Rosso for one more season before being promoted to the Red Bull team, where he replaced fellow Australian Mark Webber and racked up seven of his eight grand prix victories.