(Motorsport-Total.com) – The idea that Formula 1 drivers sit on a high horse and look down disdainfully on the IndyCar series has been a hot topic of discussion in the international motorsport community for some time. American racer Conor Daly, for example, believes that the series “deserves more respect from over there.”
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When Daniel Ricciardo was recently a guest on Daly’s podcast Speed Street ahead of the 110th running of the Indy 500, the relevant question was not long in coming. However, the eight-time Grand Prix winner rejects the assumption that Formula 1 drivers look down on their colleagues from oval racing: “There is definitely respect for that,” he says.
“It was never talked about like: ‘We are the best, Formula 1 is this, and we stand up here.’ No. Sure, as a kid, Formula 1 was the place I absolutely wanted to get to. I was a fan of Ayrton Senna growing up, and that was a big part of what I wanted to do. But it was never that we are up here and everyone else is down there. I think once you reach a certain level, you understand everything that goes into motorsport.”
The hierarchy that fan groups put together on the internet certainly does not exist within the paddock. Ricciardo explains: “There is definitely no ‘We are cooler than you guys.’ Not at all. At least, I have never experienced that. I think in the end, we all just love motorsport. And you guys do a completely different discipline. Especially the oval races compared to the circuit racing we do with a lot of downforce. But it is just different.”
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As early as 2022, the Australian made it clear that oval racing scares him: “Screw it,” he said then. “Ovals scare me.” That has not changed to this day: “Yes, I think Max [Verstappen] said that too. I’ve been saying it for many years. It scares me hellishly.”
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Addressing the assumption that Formula 1 drivers are only interested in Formula 1 and not other motorsport disciplines, he adds: “Some people are surprised when they hear: ‘Dude, you like that?’ When I say I grew up with NASCAR, they react like: ‘Wait, NASCAR? You’re a Formula 1 guy.'”
2026 first live visit to the Indy 500
The former Red Bull driver will attend this year’s Indy 500 as a spectator, having ended his racing career and become a brand ambassador for Ford Racing. “After everything you’ve told me about Indy and the 500, I probably haven’t been this excited to go to a race and just be a fan of a race since I was a kid. And I think experiencing it live, and the way you talk about it… You know the European scene, you’ve traveled the world for motorsport. I think that will really hit me hard.”
At the end of last year, Ricciardo was in Daytona for the first time and found that the steep banks there are something completely different: “Some things you just have to see. You really have to see them with your own eyes,” he says, adding: “And I think it will be the same for me with the 500. I have an idea of what it will be like. I’ve been involved in motorsport my whole life. But still, there will be things that will completely blow me away. And that’s exactly what’s cool.”
But even if the stars of Formula 1 do look respectfully at the IndyCar series and the Indy 500: many fans still regard Formula 1 as the sole pinnacle of motorsport. Perhaps also because in recent years some drivers have entered the list of Indy 500 winners who never won a Grand Prix in Formula 1. For example, Alexander Rossi (2016), Takuma Sato (2017 and 2020), Will Power (2018), or Marcus Ericsson (2022).
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