Daniel Ricciardo receives high praise from Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson, calls him best driver in F1 Lewis Hamilton has thanked the fans following his US Grand Prix triumph, while Australian Daniel Ricciardo was happy with his third place finish. Daniel Ricciardo's the best driver in F1, says Jeremy Clarkson. DANIEL Ricciardo's eighth podium finish of the season has drawn high praise from Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson, who described the Australian as the "best driver in F1." Ricciardo has been in brilliant form in his debut season with Red Bull, claiming victory in Canada, Hungary and Belgium and top three finishes in Spain, Monaco, Great Britain, Singapore and Austin, Texas. He has beaten highly-credntialled teammate Sebastian Vettel in 12 races this season and, with 214 points, is 65 clear of the four-time world champion. Clarkson has joined the chorus of motorsport pundits to heap praise on Ricciardo this season, including Eddie Jordan, Mario Andretti and even Lewis Hamilton. The plaudits continued after Ricciardo overcame a poor start, where he slipped from fifth to sixth, to fight his way onto the podium. Lewis Hamilton has taken out the US Grand Prix, extending his lead on the Formula One World Championship. "Daniel Ricciardo left Austin with plenty of positives as he not only beat Williams to the final podium spot, but also managed not to fall too far off the Mercedes cars," Planet F1 noted. The undercut worked like a charm for Ricciardo at the Circuit of the Americas as he pitted before Bottas and then moved ahead while the Finn was on his outlap, and the trick worked a second time as well as he was ahead of Massa by the time the Brazilian made his way out of the pits for his second stop. Ricciardo's helmet for Austin. Ricciardo, who has raced in the No. 3 this season, won over a new legion of US fans by paying tribute to the late NASCAR hero Dale Earnhardt. "Yeah, the 3, it is special, it is cool," Ricciardo told NBC of Earnhardt, who made the number famous in NASCAR and whose uniquely-styled No. 3 also adorns the top of Ricciardo's helmet. I'm such a fan of motorsports; NASCAR I've followed since I was very young. Watching Dale. It was my first go-kart number as well. So it was a no-brainer for me to choose the 3. To come here, what better way than to have the style of Dale on my helmet. Dale Jr."s seen that, and we've spoken via social media a little bit. So it's really nice he's supportive, and cool to see it represented in Formula One. Horner (R) with Ricciardo, Vettel and NBA star Tony Parker. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner was again effusive with praise for the Perth-born racer, who will become lead the team next season. "After a poor start, it was a fantastic recovery from Daniel," he said. Some of his overtaking manoeuvres, along with the today's pit work, got us back ahead of Fernando and the two Williams to take a place on the podium, so an incredible drive by Daniel. But while Ricciardo might have been on fire on the track, he may not have been quite as quick off it. Check out this tweet from Australian motocross legend Chad Reed. For those about to rock ... Originally published as Clarkson: Ricciardo the best in F1