“I got humbled,” Daniel Ricciardo sums up his disappointing McLaren stint

Daniel Ricciardo feels that he has learnt a lot in the last few yeas in F1.

“I got humbled,” Daniel Ricciardo sums up his disappointing McLaren stint

Daniel Ricciardo (Credits: Motorsport)

Daniel Ricciardo, the Red Bull reserve driver, has discussed his last few years of experience at the pinnacle of motor racing. He joined McLaren F1 in 2021, and what followed were two incredibly painful years with the Woking-based Team. Lando Norris dominated Ricciardo during their time together on the team.

Daniel Ricciardo has recently accepted the fact and, talking about the time he spent driving the papaya orange car, said, “I don’t want to say I got humbled, because that’s probably too dramatic. I didn’t have my head up my a—. But in a way, I got humbled, and I did realize that OK, I’m not perfect. If I was to get back on the grid, of course, the hunger would be filled to the top. But it wouldn’t be coming from a place where my ego or pride is getting in the way. It’s accepting that it’s not always going to be perfect. It’s just a reality of life.”

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The 33-year-old has with a heavy heart made it known that his painful experience with McLaren F1 has taught him a lot of things and made him realize that he is not perfect. Just like everybody else, he has got things to improve on in order to not repeat the same mistakes he committed during his 2-year spell with the papaya-colored team.

The only highlight from Daniel Ricciardo’s time with McLaren was his one and only win with the team that came at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix. Other than that, his time with the team was one to forget. Moreover, because of how tough he found things against Lando Norris, many in the paddock have doubts about whether Ricciardo still has got it in him to do great things in the sport.

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Daniel Ricciardo is adamant that he is not done in F1

Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo

While Daniel Ricciardo is not on the 2023 F1 grid, he is doing his duties as the reserve driver for the Red Bull F1 team and firmly believes that he has a bit more to give in the sport. “Deep down, I know I’m not done. I’ve never won a world championship. But for a big part of my career, I was at least fighting for wins or podiums. I always considered myself as good, if not better, than everyone else.”

The honey badger still desires to return to the F1 grid in the upcoming years. He feels that while he has never won an F1 World Championship, he is well aware of his capabilities as a driver. He does not doubt them a bit and is confident that he would be able to make people realize, once again, how good he is as an F1 driver.

However, the competition in the F1 driver market is extremely fierce. Each year new young drivers knock on the door of F1, and for a relatively old pro like Ricciardo, things might prove a bit tough when it comes to getting a racing seat. However, F1 is an unpredictable sport where anything is possible, and who knows, if the stars align for the Australian, he might be seen racing again in F1.

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