Ricciardo may be the finest F1 driver but who would know?

WITH no uniform technology, there is no real way of determining who is the best driver, just who has the fastest car.

Daniel Ricciardo might drive the perfect race on Sunday and lose because his car is not as fast as the one Lewis Hamilton is driving.

IT would be like Djokovic and Murray using graphite racquets at the Australian Open while the unsponsored and unseeded were forced to use splintered Dunlop Maxply Forts.

It’d be like McIlroy and Scott using balata balls at their Australian Open while the cheapskates and Tin Cup wannabes used rock-hard yellow balls (with black stripes) more commonly located on a municipal driving range. Yet it’s the absurd real-life imbalance of the Australian Grand Prix — the incomprehensible lack of uniformity in equipment.

Who’s the greatest driver in Formula One right now? No one knows. Because Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo has an inferior product to the Mercedes-Benz duo of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

Ricciardo is hitting three woods; they’re hammering Big Berthas. They’ll use their cutting-edge engine technology at Albert Park on Sunday while the rest of the grid, by way of deflating comparison, squeeze what they can from lemons on wheels. The disparity in F1 is absurd. Is it not? What other elite sport has such an enforced inequality?

Hamilton is world champion because he’s the best Silver Arrows driver and because he’s the best Silver Arrows driver, he’s the world champion. Geddit? It brings to mind the Eleanor Roosevelt quote about the more mundane corners of existence: “If life were predictable it would cease to be life, and it would be without flavour.”

F1 is being stripped of life and flavour and wavering fans because, to paraphrase the Twelfth Man, who nails it more than most on matters of sporting interest, these f … ing Mercs go round and round and round and it’s so f … ing boring.

Ricciardo might be the finest driver in existence. How would we know? How would he know? He’s at the mercy of his garage. It’s like Djokovic being completely reliant on the expertise of his racquet stringer. It’s like Australia receiving only 45 overs to bat at the World Cup. It’s like the Wallabies getting only seven forwards against the All Blacks.

Ricciardo might drive the perfect race on Sunday — and lose. Something’s patently amiss there. It’s ridiculous to have the majority of athletes disadvantaged to such an estimable degree.

“We’ll see what happens on track but it does look like the Mercs have a bit of pace again this year,” Ricciardo said. “For the last spot on the podium, it looks pretty close between us (Red Bull), Ferrari and Williams.

“I’m sure a few other players will come into the mix but we’ll see everyone on track like-for-like this weekend, and I think that’s what is going to be exciting. We’ve been asked so many questions — where do you think you stand? The Mercs are quick but other than that, it’s all going to be pretty close behind them.”

In other words, in the absence of the Mercs having a couple of fender benders and being carted away by a Melbourne-based tow truck, Ricciardo’s most realistic hope is to finish third. Lopsided results over another championship season will continue to rob F1 of the contest-craving sports fan. Even Hamilton admitted: “Personally, I would get bored, but I can only speak for myself.”

F1 should have standardised engines in standardised cars. It will never happen. The richest teams are the most superior. The most superior are the richest. Yet standardisation would provide the ultimate driving test. It would reward the ultimate driver. Spare us any form of sporting predictability.

This from Williams’ Valtteri Bottas: “What everyone knows is that Mercedes is still ahead of everyone at this point.” Spare us! From McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen: “I’d say our expectations are quite low.” Spare us! Ricciardo sought flavour and life. “To be honest, the vibe is still good, it’s still strong,” he said ahead of Sunday’s attempt to become the first Australian to win the Australian GP.

“The team definitely wants to get back on top. I don’t think we’re too keen to let Mercedes get any further away. We’re in a better position than we were last year. If you look at the time we put down in pre-season testing, we’re coming here with a lot more confidence in terms of reliability.

“We actually have a plan for Sunday whereas last year it was just, ‘Put the car on the track and hope to see the chequered flag’.

“And I feel I’ve moved a long way forward. I feel like a more evolved driver. I have a bigger impact in the team having spent the 12 months there.”

Ricciardo will receive an accurate gauge of his Red Bull speed machine’s capabilities during this afternoon’s practice sessions. Perhaps Hamilton really is the greatest F1 driver. Perhaps it’s Ricciardo. Perhaps his record lap, ahead of Hamilton, in Top Gear’s Star In A Reasonably Priced Car was revelatory.

But until Ricciardo receives his equivalent of a graphite stick, balata ball or the biggest Bertha he can get his hands on, well, he might still get the job done — but he’s going to need a good kick out of the rough.

● Team Sauber lost its appeal yesterday against a court ruling allowing driver Giedo van der Garde to race in Sunday’s grand prix. The Dutch driver said he was promised a seat for the 2015 season, but the Swiss team dumped him in favour of Sweden’s Marcus Ericsson and Brazilian Felipe Nasr in November. Van der Garde can begin practice sessions today and compete in Sunday’s race.