Daniel Ricciardo has key winning attribute: composure
With Vettel off the pace, Red Bull's Australian driver has been a revelation - and there's no doubt he's made of the right stuff
Thank goodness for teammate rivalry. Another Mercedes 1-2 at Monaco would have been dull beyond belief but for the full-on tantrum that Lewis Hamilton had after Nico Rosberg's antics to secure pole position.
All eyes will be on them and the team as Formula One gets back on track again this weekend in Canada. But there is one driver who shone in Monaco and who has shone this season as a whole - Daniel Ricciardo has made the world sit up and take notice in his first season at Red Bull.
Team boss Christian Horner said in the build-up to Canada that he had no idea his new driver was going to be so quick. I bet Sebastian Vettel, his teammate and world champion for the past four years, is surprised. Out-qualified and out-raced 5-1 this season, he's two places and nine points behind the Australian. It would have been more but for Ricciardo's disqualification in the first race on home soil when he secured a podium.
On his website he said: "I am ready to reinforce my determination to succeed and become one of the elite drivers on the F1 circuit."
We might all fancy ourselves as racers, but just how clear would your mind be if you were sitting on the grid, waiting for the lights to go out?
I think it's fair to say he may already be there. Of course, like most successful drivers, it's not been a case of overnight success; more like several years of outstanding success.