Daniel Ricciardo is unsurprisingly excited at the thought of more overtaking with the new Formula 1 cars coming for 2021.
Last week, Liberty Media revealed the latest design model upon announcing an agreement of the new regulations, with the emphasis being on developing cars that can follow more closely.
All of this is music to the ears of Ricciardo, who has made his name as one of the best overtakers on the grid over the years, even with the current generation of machines.
“When others are passing one car, I’ll be passing two at once!” he joked. “That’s the way you got to look at it.”
It’s not yet decided if the ’21 cars will lead to the end of DRS, with the impact expected to be monitored and the rear wing device implemented if needed.
Regardless, the ability for a driver to attack harder means Ricciardo does think the art of defensive driving will be more important.
“It puts more on us to defend better as well,” he explained. “I don’t think it’s going to be easy to overtake, it’s not going to be like everyone can do it.
“Everyone will be trying to defend harder, but having more opportunities available will mean better excitement for everyone.”
Broadly, the reaction to the new car has been positive in the hope the changes will allow for more competition in F1.
And given how the emphasis has been on meeting the wishes of fans, motorsport director Ross Brawn is satisfied by what he’s heard so far.
“Too often in the past, rule changes have been effected as a knee-jerk reaction to temporary issues and with a short-term approach,” he said via Crash.net.
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“This time, the methodology has been very different. These rules have been thought out, studied and defined in a truly holistic manner, taking into account what the fans want, because you can have the best drivers, the fastest and most technologically advanced cars and the most beautiful and demanding race tracks, but if the fans aren’t interested then you are going nowhere.
“We are pleased with how the regulations were received, especially by the fans,” he added.
“We are also aware that there is still a lot of work to do in the coming months to fine-tune and adjust the rules where necessary before the start of the 2021 season.
“In the meantime, everyone can start to work on building the new Formula 1, starting from a defined and agreed base. There is no turning back.”