Daniel Ricciardo set for F1 record demotion

daniel ricciardo, vcrab, red bull, graphic — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Daniel Ricciardo set for F1 record demotion

Australia has been represented well on the F1 grid

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Saturday 10 May 2025 21:55 Updated: 11:11

Australia has been well-represented on the F1 grid over the years, from Jack Brabham to Daniel Ricciardo, and now current championship leader Oscar Piastri - but the rise of the McLaren star could relegate Ricciardo in the F1 history books.

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The nation boasts 49 grand prix victories, 37 pole positions and 145 podiums, with three-time world champion Jack Brabham still the most successful F1 driver to hail from Australia with 14 race wins.

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Alan Jones remains the second-most successful with 12 victories, and Mark Webber the third with 9 race wins.

At the beginning of Ricciardo’s F1 career, the Aussie was touted to break these records and was even named a potential future world champion, his early victories with Red Bull an indicator of his racing talent.

However, Ricciardo never capitalised on this talent, and whilst eight grand prix victories is nothing to sniff at, it is a record that could be eclipsed in 2025 by Australia's current star Oscar Piastri.

How can Piastri surpass Ricciardo’s race wins?

Piastri’s superb run of form, coupled with the most dominant car on the F1 grid, has seen the 24-year-old enjoy three consecutive race wins and four in total thus far in 2025.

Following Piastri’s first win at the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix and his subsequent victory in Azerbaijan, the Australian driver now has six race victories and with 18 races left this season, meaning he has plenty of time to surpass Ricciardo’s record of eight wins.

If Piastri crosses the finish line first in the next two events at Imola and Monaco, he will equal Ricciardo’s total of grand prix victories and could beat it as early as the Spanish Grand Prix.

However, Piastri's current dominance is likely to be challenged by team-mate Lando Norris and Max Verstappen, despite the form the McLaren star finds himself in.

As Verstappen and Norris fought for second behind him during the Miami GP, Piastri managed to extend his lead by over eight seconds which gave him enough of a buffer to resist his team-mate when he eventually got past the Red Bull.

Since Miami, much has been said about how the Aussie races Verstappen compared to Norris, with Piastri himself admitting he has studied how to battle the champion.

"I'm starting to understand what you can and can't do around Max. In Saudi I did what I needed to, to win myself the race," Piastri told Sky Sports F1 at the Miami Grand Prix.

"Even though it took me a fair few laps to get past him, that was probably as efficient as I could have overtaken him.

"I learned through my years of watching Max and racing against him that being on his outside is not a very fun place and I had to try something different. It felt like a matter of when, rather than if, but I had to pick my moment wisely."

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F1 Red Bull McLaren Daniel Ricciardo Oscar Piastri