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Daniel Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo ends 34-year F1 streak at British Grand Prix

At the British Grand Prix in 2011, debutant Daniel Ricciardo put an end to 34 years without more than one Australian racing in F1.

Ricciardo HRT
Throwback
To news overview © xpb.cc

Before Daniel Ricciardo was an eight-time grand prix winner and one of the most popular drivers to grace the F1 paddock, he was the Toro Rosso reserve and Red Bull junior.

That was until HRT Formula 1 Team, otherwise known as Hispania, handed him his debut at the 2011 British Grand Prix.

The Australian was brought in to replace Narain Karthikeyan for the remaining 11 rounds of the season, excluding the Indian Grand Prix, so that the former Jordan driver could compete in his home race.

In doing so, the now-36-year-old broke a streak that dated back to the 1977 Austrian Grand Prix.

By joining compatriot Mark Webber on the grid for the round at Silverstone, Ricciardo ended a 34-year wait for more than one Australian to start a Formula 1 race.

In that previous race, at the Österreichring, Alan Jones and Vern Schuppan lined up for Shadow and Surtees, respectively.

The latter qualified P25 (there were 26 grid slots back in those days) and finished P16 and second-to-last in the classification, although, Emilio de Villota behind had an accident and did not take the chequered flag.

The former, meanwhile, lined up in P14, but was able to take victory for the first of 12 times in his own F1 career.

Interestingly, Jones had initially opted to sit out the season, not wanting to race for Surtees himself. However, he was drafted in to replace Tom Pryce after he lost his life when he hit a marshal during the South African Grand Prix, whose fire extinguisher killed the Welshman.

Jones is still Australia's last F1 drivers' champion, winning the title with Williams in 1980.

A tale of two Australians

Fast forward almost 34 years and Webber did his best to emulate Jones' victory in changeable conditions at Silverstone.

The Red Bull driver started on pole, but instantly lost the lead to team-mate Sebastian Vettel, who beat him to the first corner.

Fernando Alonso grabbed the lead of the race from the German in the pit lane following an error from the Milton Keynes squad's pit crew. The Ferrari subsequently took control of the race.

In the closing stages, after both passed Lewis Hamilton's McLaren, Webber was in a position to put Vettel under pressure.

Having been told not to pass, the Australian defied team orders and attempted to get by. However, he was ultimately unsuccessful and had to settle for third.

Ricciardo, on the other hand, propped up the rear of the field at race start in P24, after qualifying half a second shy of Hispania team-mate Vitantonio Liuzzi, who was also on the back row.

He did make it to the chequered flag, albeit last of the finishers, in P19. He was three laps down on winner Alonso.

Also interesting:

Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes, Sam Coop and Nick Golding, as they look back at the Austrian GP but also take a look ahead to Silverstone. Max Verstappen's title chances are a lead discussion, as is whether Lando Norris can for the first time this year secure back-to-back wins.

Rather watch the podcast? Then click here!

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