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SLOW-START-MCLAREN; WHY DANIEL RICCIARDO IS NOT PANICKING

Aug 12, 2021
Sports, cars

F1's best over-takers and winner of 7 races since 2014, Daniel Ricciardo has surprised fans and everyone who hoped his start with McLaren would set off some Formula 1 race sparks. The prediction with his arrival was that his teammate, another respected driver in Formula 1 racing would be overshadowed by Ricciardo but that could not have been farther from the truth. On the track, the results prove that Ricciardo must have a different agenda; it would appear Ricciardo is more concerned about maintaining the team spirit and working to foster the right relationship with all; teammates and engineers


His teammate Norris seems to be shinning brighter contrary to expectations; when after 10 races, Ricciardo is ninth with one top-five finish to his name but Norris places 3rd, with three podium finishes, and all but two races in the top five. It is evident that results matter but that is not what the F1 story is all about; in review, Daniel has not made any mistakes with his new team except for a crash in qualifying at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The Australian driver stated that, although the frustration is clearly not getting to him, he would definitely like to take the Glory as Lauren's new driver but that, experience has taught him to see this as a process. He believes there is a reason why things are not going great now; that all he needs now is to take a breath, step back and understand why.

A decade after his F1 debut, Daniel has learned to navigate the difficult times a little more gracefully. Although the Australian driver believes he is not where he wants to be, he understands the importance of not overthinking his current situation; "sometimes, you do just need a little bit of patience and big picture stuff". McLaren is a perfect environment now than it was a few years ago when it labored through Formula One with its competitive Honda engine. With the arrival of team boss Andreas Seidl, McLaren has marked a change, both in performance and mindset and the environment is significantly different. This new approach suits Ricciardo's own outlook.
Daniel recognizes team effort and acknowledges that everyone is doing as much as they can to help and he honestly can't ask for more. "Everything within the team at the moment is I want to say, near perfect, the only thing that's not really there is the on-track results, or at least consistently".
The Formula One Season continues with the Belgian Grand Prix on Aug. 29.