“A lot of scope for development,” Daniel Ricciardo hopeful of McLaren closing the gap on Ferrari and Red Bull

“A lot of scope for development,” Daniel Ricciardo hopeful of McLaren closing the gap on Ferrari and Red Bull

Daniel Ricciardo

McLaren after heaving a terrible start to the season has seemed to find its form and appears to have surpassed Mercedes in terms of their recent performances. They are attempting to catch up with the Silver Arrows in the championship, but that might take some time given the huge deficit built between them.

And as the car found its face, so did its drivers. A P5-P6 finish in Australia and a podium in Imola testify to their improvement so far. This fast development has also got Daniel Ricciardo excited and hopeful of possibly catching up with Ferrari and Red Bull. But the Aussie knows it’s a challenge and a half.

Ricciardo, as quoted by GP Fans, spoke, “It’s still ambitious because, obviously, Red Bull and Ferrari will continue developing, so the target is always going to be moving, but I’m still definitely more glass half full that we can still find something a little more at the moment.”

How much improvement is there according to Daniel Ricciardo?

Daniel Ricciardo's MCL36
Daniel Ricciardo’s MCL36

In F1, thousandths of a second can decide the outcome of a race. With timekeeping as accurate as that of F1’s, the slightest change in the car can be a deciding factor. For example, one-tenth of a difference per lap can amount to a difference of an entire second every 10 laps. 

In cutting the time on his MCL36, Daniel Ricciardo appears to be quite optimistic. The driver believes there’s plenty of pace to be found. He explained, “I think there is still a lot of scope for development and improvements. Not these one-tenth, two-tenth improvements, but potentially the bigger four-, five-tenths.”

Daniel currently stands P11 in the drivers’ championship behind Haas’ Kevin Magnussen. With more stability and pace expected to be roped in for McLaren, Ricciardo combining it with his experience can drop a magical performance in Miami.

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