Class of '06 Student Announced as Formula 1 Prospect
Past student Daniel Ricciardo (Class of ’06) has been announced as a prospective candidate for the Red Bull Formula 1 Racing team, following his outstanding winning season in the British F3 championship this year.
Daniel recently spoke with Newman’s Community Relations Officer from his home in Milton Keynes, England, about his racing career to date.
Where are you based at the moment?
I’m based in Milton Keynes, UK, which is about an hour north of London.
What’s it like living there? It must be pretty different to Perth!
It’s very different to Perth, especially the weather! The summer here is not particularly fun and it’s always pretty cold. Being grown up in Perth I really like the heat and I miss that a lot. But in general living here is good. The city I live in is only forty years old so it’s pretty modern and has similar things to what we would in Perth.
The thing I like best about living here is that everything is so close - a quick plane journey and you’re in another country, or sometimes even a few hours by car. You do get to see more of the world which is nice, but I’m not living here for that. It’s the racing career that has brought me here and its where I need to be. Perth will always be home to me.
How would you describe your job to someone who’s not familiar with the racing world?
I am a race car driver aspiring to reach Formula 1, which is the absolute pinnacle of any type of motorsport. To race in Formula 1 you need to be a professional athlete, as the physical exertion is much more intense than anyone would expect.
For example, my job consists of racing (Formula 3 at the moment) more or less every second weekend, and when I don’t have a race on I am training six days a week. The type of training I do is a mix of strength and endurance. I will do approximately fourteen hours of endurance training per week (cycling, running, arm cycling and rowing) and I also will do two planned strength sessions (weights for mostly the upper body). And generally I will do core and neck training on a day to day basis. To be honest the neck and core area (lower back especially) are two of the most important muscles we need as a race car driver. We reach a serious amount of g-forces in these types of Formula cars, and for this the neck needs to be very strong and stable. In F1 the races last around one and a half hours, so it’s a long time to be at full effort and concentration. There is no time to rest during a race.
Along with training I try to maintain a good diet, which complements good training and also keeps a healthier mind and allows for better concentration during the race.
What have been the best moments of your career so far?
Winning a European Championship last year, and also being selected by Red Bull to be on their junior program. (There are only nine Red Bull junior drivers in the world so it’s a very select group.)
What’s the hardest part of your job?
There are a lot of pressures to deal with, but I guess it’s the same with any top athlete no matter what the sport is. To be honest, the hardest part is living away from home and missing family and friends.
What do you hope to be doing in ten years or so?
Racing. I hope that I would have achieved a Formula 1 World Championship by this time.
What are your favourite memories of Newman?
The friendships I made. Year 12 Retreat was a great memory from school. It was a very enjoyable trip for all us students. I miss not seeing everyone and hanging out for a nice meat pie during lunch times.
Do you keep in touch with any friends from school, or does your job make it a bit difficult?
I am still very close with quite a few students from school. Some are the best friends I have are from Newman. Living away does make it harder to keep in touch and we all have different lives from school, but we make an effort to stay in contact and when I’m home for the summer I spend a lot of time with them. For example I met up with a few friends from Newman a couple days ago in London which was really nice. Some I hadn’t seen since year 12 and it was really great to see them again.
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Class of ’04 Past Student’s WAFL Glory