Four-time Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel has rolled back the years with a throwback Instagram post honouring Daniel Ricciardo’s famous comeback win at the 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix.
The pair shared the Red Bull garage that season, and Vettel’s latest black-and-white montage highlights the race in which a then-25-year-old Ricciardo out-foxed Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton in the final laps.
Safety-Car Chaos Changes Everything
Two early safety-car periods, triggered by crashes for Marcus Ericsson and Sergio Pérez, flipped strategy on its head and scattered the order.
Vettel’s own afternoon unravelled when he spun exiting the last corner, falling to seventh after starting on the front row.
That error left Ricciardo as the lead Red Bull and set up an attacking final stint on fresher tyres.
Overtakes for the Ages
Ricciardo first swept past Hamilton’s recovering Mercedes before muscling inside Alonso at Turn 1 with just three laps to go to seal his second career victory.
The move capped a display of late-braking bravado that remains a highlight of the early hybrid era.
Vettel Reflects on the Slip-Up
“It wasn’t a great race. I spun, which was my mistake, and before that, I was unlucky with the safety car in the first stint.”
“The timing meant the first four cars lost positions to those running behind. Unfortunately, we were also in the wrong mode for the restart and I lost two positions. It’s good for Daniel that he won today, I’m happy for him.”
Lasting Significance
Ricciardo finished third in the 2014 standings and Vettel left for Ferrari that winter, but their Budapest duel still resonates with fans.
Vettel’s post underlines the mutual respect between two drivers whose careers briefly intertwined at Red Bull before heading down very different paths.