FA: 'Unbelievable' Daniel Ricciardo
Fernando Alonso hails 'unbelievable' Daniel Ricciardo
after close German GP duel
Fernando Alonso hailed Daniel
Ricciardo's driving as "unbelievable" after narrowly beating the
Aussie to fifth place at Hockenheim.
The pair fought wheel-to-wheel after
Alonso made his final stop on lap 55 of Sunday’s 67-lap race, with the Ferrari
driver eventually getting ahead – but only after Ricciardo had made life very
difficult for him indeed.
Speaking afterwards, the double World
Champion praised his rival’s skill and admitted he’d been surprised at just how
well the Red Bull driver has performed since joining the World Champions.
“Daniel is a surprise from
Australia,” Alonso said. “I think he’s doing unbelievable; I think he’s
seven-three [in qualifying] in the first ten races with Sebastian [Vettel], so
it’s something we probably didn’t suspect.
“He’s driving fantastically and
today he was battling very smart – always taking the slipstream of me after I
pass him and braking very late, attacking very late and never missing a corner.
“He was very, very smart, very
respectful with the rules and it was a great fight.”
Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel
and Daniel Ricciardo tell Natalie Pinkham about their exciting battles during
the German GP at Hockenheim.
Ricciardo almost regained fifth
place at the chequered flag, with Alonso admitting he’d been lucky to hold on
after being forced to save fuel during the closing laps.
“For the last stint I was saving
fuel but I was battling with Ricciardo, so for some laps you have to decide to
give up the position and cross the line or fight with Ricciardo and be on the
limit to cross the line,” he added.
“I decide to fight with Ricciardo,
be in the position and then I will try to manage the fuel as good as I can.
“On the last lap, I had to save fuel
massively and I was in eighth gear all lap and it was lucky that there was not
100 metres more.”
Ricciardo and Alonso are also
engaged in a close fight in the Drivers' World Championship, with the
third-placed Aussie just nine points ahead of the Spaniard.
(fonte: Skysports.com)
***
Na verdade ninguém imaginava que RIC seria tão competitivo como está sendo... Aliás, ele tem dado muito tralhado para todos, não só para o Sr. Tetra...
E para falar a verdade, a disputa de ontem entre os dois foi a melhor coisa da corrida... muito bonita por sinal!
Torço para o sucesso de RIC... ele me parece um bom menino...
Bjusss, Tati
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