“If I said I’d loved every second, you’d know it’s a lie,” Daniel Ricciardo opens up on his stressful stint with McLaren
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Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo has always been the entertainer of the paddock and along with his shenanigans, came his raw speed and ability to late brake to an extent that no once could. The energy that he has flowing in the paddock is commendable and has made him a very likeable figure in Formula 1. The news of him leaving McLaren at the end of 2023 has shocked almost everyone after what he had previously said.
When the deal was announced, it seemed like Daniel Ricciardo and McLaren seemed like the dream pairing for CEO Zak Brown with Lando Norris also in the squad. Fans and critics assumed that the Aussie driver would completely destroy his teammate although that wasn’t the case. For 2 years Daniel did not perform as expected and was always lagging behind. In 2021, Ricciardo was nowhere near Lando Norris when it came to qualifying pace.
Along with that, a few poor results follow suit which didn’t help his case either. Daniel apparently left Red Bull because they seemed to be giving more preference to young talent and the same seemed to be happening at Mclaren with Lando Norris.
The 2022 season meant new rules and regulations which Daniel Ricciardo could have benefited from but this wasn’t the case. Since the summer break, it was been revealed that Daniel will be leaving the team at the end of this year and fellow Aussie Oscar Piastri will be taking his place.
The ‘Honey Badger’ has been heavily linked to a role with Mercedes as their reserve driver for next year. Ricciardo explains his current situation to the media.
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“I knew what was going to come,” Daniel Ricciardo on the situation after he announced that he won’t be racing with McLaren
The Aussie further went on to share his thoughts on the situation when the news first came out. “If I said I’d loved every second, I don’t think you would publish that. I think you’d know it’s a lie. “Definitely [the announcement], at least the Thursday, was less enjoyable. I knew I would have to go through the motions of what people were going to ask me,” he said.
“Obviously I was prepared to answer everything and I knew what was going to come, so it wasn’t like a shock, but still kind of talking about it when you kind of just want to get back to racing,” he continued.
Since the announcement, Daniel Ricciardo is yet to score a point during the races as there just doesn’t seem to be enough motivation left for him to push hard with his current team. The Aussie finished 18th in Zandvoort. It will be interesting to see what he does next year.
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