Daniel Ricciardo is one of the few drivers who has been lobbying for a Las Vegas Grand Prix for a long time now. All the way back in 2017, after Liberty Media Corporation purchased Formula 1, Daniel Ricciardo was the first driver to ask for a race in Las Vegas, while Lewis Hamilton wanted a race in Miami.

Now in 2023, both these drivers got their wishes. Just this year, we witnessed races both at the Miami International Autodrome and the iconic strip in Las Vegas. Prior to the inaugural Las Vegas GP, the Honey Badger shared his views on the F1 circus visiting the Sin City.

Daniel Ricciardo’s wish gets fulfilled six years down the road

When F1 announced the Las Vegas Grand Prix for the 2023 season, it looked like Daniel Ricciardo might not be realizing his dream of racing in Las Vegas. He was fresh out of a seat, and unless something happened to Sergio Perez or Max Verstappen, he might not have had a single race this entire season. However, he got his break after the Red Bull management put their foot down and sacked Nyck de Vries after just 10 races.

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Ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Daniel Ricciardo went on a road trip with Matt Gallagher of P1 with Matt and Tommy, where he got to share his opinions about the iconic race. “I’m excited. It still feels surreal that we are going to be racing on the strip. I feel that F1 has blown up in the last few years. So much is a little unexpected. Even having our own Netflix series, even that feels a little surreal. But racing in Vegas on the strip – that’s definitely the most wild thing in the last few (years).“

Here, Daniel Ricciardo puts the Las Vegas Grand Prix ahead of even getting to be a part of the popular Drive to Survive series. In fact, most pundits give credit to the Netflix series for the increase in popularity of the sport, which as a result allowed Ricciardo and the rest of the drivers to race in Las Vegas.

Read more: Daniel Ricciardo Reveals “Most Sad” Untold Story After He Broke His Hand at the Dutch GP

Despite having his wishes come true, Daniel Ricciardo’s Las Vegas Grand Prix was a race to forget. His AlphaTauri was simply not up to the mark, in a race where he finished P14 and his teammate Yuki Tsunoda had to retire.

Daniel Ricciardo’s day to forget in Las Vegas

After qualifying P15 on Friday’s qualifying session, Ricciardo could not improve a lot in the race and finished P14. Despite being optimistic, his AlphaTauri wasn’t able to generate the temperature window required to keep the tires at the optimal level, leaving the Australian with a “painful” memory.

“I was getting overtaken on the outside of turn three and the outside is really slippery. For them to have more grip on the outside, I was just like `Oh man.’ It was pretty humiliating.” He continues, “We honestly just couldn’t do anything. So, a bit of a painful weekend. I think it’s certainly surface-specific, but we can’t neglect it.”

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Unfortunately for Daniel Ricciardo and AlphaTauri, they weren’t able to capitalize on a better circuit that suited the car better in Abu Dhabi and finished barely out of points in P11. This ultimately cost them the P7 battle in the Constructors’ Championship.