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Ricciardo was not the only one from Down Under celebrating. He was one of two drivers from Australia, thousands of miles apart and even further from home, who unexpectedly found themselves parked together atop the motor racing world after winning the two biggest races in the sport.
Just hours after Ricciardo triumphed in Monaco around the narrow streets of Monte Carlo, his countryman Will Power won the Indianapolis 500, becoming the first Australian to win the ‘Greatest Spectacle in Racing’ and sharing in a unique double.
Only two other countries - Britain (1965, 1966) and Brazil (1989, 1993) - had provided the winning driver at Monaco and Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the same year, but Australia became the first nation to win both races on the same day.
As the only Australian driver in Formula One at present, Ricciardo is already a household name in his homeland, partly because of his previous successes but more so because of Australia’s long and proud tradition in F1. Australia has already had two world champions, Jack Brabham (1959, 1960 and 1966) and Alan Jones (1980), and hosts the first race of the season.
Power, 37, has had more track success than Ricciardo but received much less recognition. He was crowned the 2014 IndyCar Series champion and has won 34 races in his career but is better known in North America than in his own homeland. He hopes that will change after the biggest victory of his career.
“To be the first Australian to win the Indy 500, that’s very special,” he said. “Maybe they might recognise me now. I don’t think many people know who I am down there.”
