"It’s obviously fictional" - Daniel Ricciardo's upcoming TV series 'not intended to challenge' Lewis Hamilton's film or Drive to Survive

Daniel Ricciardo at the F1 Grand Prix of France at Circuit Paul Ricard on July 24, 2022 in Le Castellet, France. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
Daniel Ricciardo at the F1 Grand Prix of France at Circuit Paul Ricard on July 24, 2022 in Le Castellet, France. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Daniel Ricciardo is producing an upcoming Hulu F1 television series and insists that the project is not "intended to challenge" any similar productions, including Netflix docu-series 'Drive to Survive' and Lewis Hamilton's upcoming race-themed Hollywood film. Given that the Hulu project is "purely fictional," the Australian emphasized that the show will be very different from the Netflix series, catering to a potentially different audience.

Speaking about the show, as reported by RaceFans, Daniel Ricciardo said:

“Basically we’re just looking for a writer. I think once you’ve got the writer dialled in, then production, everything, they’re all behind it. Obviously Hulu was all over it so it’s in the right hands and it’s now just finding an appropriate writer who’s going to take the show in a good direction.”

He continued:

“Obviously I hope it’s a success, but it’s not intended to challenge any of those, whether it’s Lewis’s, whether it’s Drive to Survive. I think it will be completely different. But if you said five other drivers have said they’re doing projects, honestly that would make me happy, because we’re obviously trying to push the sport out into a bigger audience. It’s obviously fictional, but it’s going to stem from a reality of what F1 is like, but with a bit of Hollywood behind it.”
“[That interest] is good. I’m in a way, not arrogantly, but I’m not surprised in terms of the interest of F1 right now as a brand, is so big. So I knew, especially when I think the Hollywood Reporter picked it up and kind of ran with the story, I was like ‘okay, this is probably going to get some traction.’”

Daniel Ricciardo starting to better understand his struggles with the car

Daniel Ricciardo had a particularly rough first half of the season this year and already has a huge gap in the championship standings to his teammate Lando Norris.

Speaking to Motorsport, he revealed that while he is still not perfectly comfortable, he is starting to better understand the car, which was significantly modified after the new regulations. He said:

“The regulations make the car feel different, but the DNA of the car is still very similar. Some of the things from last year which I struggled with, they are still in this car. It’s something I think we are starting to understand better what it is.”
“Because obviously I tried to describe it, but to really understand, is it aero, is it is geometry, like… you know what I mean? We are starting to understand better what it is, and Lando also does complain about it. I think he’s just used to it.”

The 33-year-old was hoping to make greater progress from last year, but seems to be having an even more underwhelming season in 2022.

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