Daniel Ricciardo declares title hunt now on

Daniel Ricciardo has declared himself in the hunt for the 2014 world championship.

Before the title war between Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg exploded in Belgium, no one would have bet against a dominant victory for one or the other of the silver-clad duo.

But as their personal battle spilled into on-track carnage at Spa-Francorchamps, Red Bull’s surprise newcomer Ricciardo grinned through the melee to secure his second consecutive race victory.

It was the Australian’s third win of the season and his career, and a look at the drivers’ standings shows he is now only 35 points behind Hamilton for second.

“The fact that Daniel only has one win less than Nico is really remarkable,” said team boss Christian Horner.

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