Daniel Ricciardo recalls hilarious ‘crash’ after Red Bull ‘ruckus’

Daniel Ricciardo has described his maiden Formula 1 victory at the 2014 Canadian Grand Prix as "the highest high in the sport", recalling the chaos of the podium and the all-night celebrations that followed in Montreal.

Ricciardo's win at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve came after both Mercedes drivers suffered power unit failures that handed Red Bull an unlikely route to victory. 

Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton were hit by near-identical electronics failures that stripped their cars of hybrid power, with Hamilton retiring from second on the grid with brake failure. 

Ricciardo, starting sixth, jumped team-mate Sebastian Vettel at the second round of pit stops and eventually passed the ailing Rosberg into the final chicane on lap 68, sealing a result that finished with him 4.236 seconds clear at the flag.

Looking back on footage of that afternoon, Ricciardo admitted he barely knew how to react when the news sank in.

"I didn't really know what to say. I think it was such, like, a young laugh of shock and joy [on the radio]," Ricciardo told Inside F1. "So, the last shot there on the podium, I remember, I think it was Seb [Vettel] spraying me so much with the champagne, and I was, like, gasping for air. 

"I was, like, 'I need to breathe.' The first emotion is, I don't know, is nostalgia an emotion? I don't know. It feels so familiar, but also so long ago. I'm also just very grateful to have been able to experience this feeling. That's the highest high in the sport. 

"Beyond that is to win a world championship. For many years, I didn't feel like my career was a success because the world championship was something that I was so fixed on and believed in. But I think now, looking back, I'm like, 'Okay, this was pretty awesome to still be able to get these moments.'"

Red Bull and Ricciardo enjoy wild celebrations

The win, which halted Mercedes' winning run at the start of the turbo-hybrid era, also sparked a spontaneous celebration back at the team hotel that night, with flights home swiftly abandoned.

"So, we all had flights that night that we happily cancelled," Ricciardo added.

"There was, like, a bar, like a rooftop bar at the hotel. Yeah, we just drank and caused a bit of a ruckus upstairs. But I will say, I think the adrenaline eventually wore off, and I remember it got to, I don't know, maybe it was 1 am, and I just completely crashed. 

"So, actually, I was one of the first to go to bed, but I heard some stories the following day and saw some of the team at breakfast the following day. They didn't look good, but it was for a good cause."