Daniel Ricciardo was F1's 'smiling assassin' and the sport is lost without him

Formula 1 has a Daniel Ricciardo problem. Again.

On this occasion, the problem isn't about him clogging up a Red Bull developmental seat or just being slow, but it might be worse in terms of the big picture.

For a sport which has found a new popularity as a personality-driven experience, with Drive To Survive opening the public's eyes to the characters on the grid, F1 seems to have run out of media darlings.

Sebastian Vettel and his love of nature? Gone. Zhou Guanyu's fashion sense? Relegated to a reserve role. Danny Ric's smile, love of engaging with the media and natural bounce? Gone.

F1's Daniel Ricciardo problem becoming obvious

Oscar Piastri's mum Nicole was talking about this issue recently, saying of media interactions: "To be honest I don’t know that any of them love it. I mean, Danny Ric was great at it."

She couldn't have been more right. The sport's biggest name is a Dutchman whose disinterest in talking to traditional media outlets is well known, while Lewis Hamilton has cut a broken, disappointed figure in front of Sky's cameras for at least 18 months now.

The top four in this year's championship are Verstappen, two boilerplate posh English men and Piastri, who's a stoic and reserved figure when he's dealing with the press. There's...kinda a dearth of fun dudes in F1 now.

Maybe one of the youngsters can be that guy in the future, but right now they're just young, nervous pups. There's a famously spicy former world champion in the paddock, but Fernando Alonso's settled more into the grumpy old man spot rather than being an g rogue.

There isn't a place for Daniel Ricciardo on the grid now. His performances just don't justify it. But boy, is there a gaping hole in the sport where his personality used to be.

READ MORE: F1 chief Brown confirms major McLaren exit

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