Italian GP 2021 Driver of the Day - Daniel Ricciardo (Credits: F1.com)
Daniel Ricciardo led from the first few seconds of lap 1 to win the 2021 Italian GP and eventually the Driver of The Day as well
As is usually the case, Monza never failed to disappoint. The 2021 Italian GP was no short of drama, as Australian Daniel Ricciardo finished first.
This was the 32-year old’s first win in almost 3 years, after having won the 2018 Monaco GP previously.
He also gave McLaren their first-ever win in 9 years. The team from Woking, last won the 2012 Brazilian GP – courtesy Jenson Button.
Starting at P2, Ricciardo took the lead in the very early seconds of the first lap, going past Max Verstappen.
He held on to that position until the end of the race. However, he might have slipped a place or two, had Verstappen and Hamilton not crashed. All in all, it was a brilliant display of driving from the man down under.
The victory also earned Ricciardo the F1 Driver of the Day award, earning a stunning 34.5% of the votes.
It was a stunning display from Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas as well. The Finnish man had won the sprint race the previous day, but started from P19, since he was serving a penalty.
However, he showed the heart of a champion, gaining 16 places to finish on the podium (at P3).
His third-place finish, placed him second in the Driver of the Day standings – receiving 28.6% of the votes (not that far behind Ricciardo).
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