“We’re closer this year,” Daniel Ricciardo takes positives from a much improved performance in Baku


“We’re closer this year,” Daniel Ricciardo takes positives from a much improved performance in Baku

Daniel Ricciardo

The pressure in continuously mounting for Daniel Ricciardo which makes it imperative for him to showcase the talent that McLaren signed him for. We all expected the Australian to win at least one championship with the kind of natural ability he has as a driver. But unfortunately, that hasn’t materialized with his graph continuously showing a downwards trend which has put Andreas Seidl and Zak Brown in a spot of bother.

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Coming at the back of a decent season with McLaren, this was supposed to be the season where we expected Daniel Ricciardo to come into his own and take center stage once again. But, that hasn’t been the case with the ‘honey badger’ just able to score points in only two races to go with a points finish at the sprint race in Imola. While Lando Norris has adapted to the new car like a duck to water, the Australian has struggled.

We understand that McLaren hasn’t done the best of work with the development of the MCL-36 but it also vividly evident from Lando’s performances that there is much more in that car to extracted than what Daniel has been able to extract. A points finish and more importantly, a finish ahead of Lando Norris would have given him a world of confidence.

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Daniel Ricciardo looks to bounce back following a much better drive in Baku

Daniel Ricciardo with McLaren CEO Zak Brown
Daniel Ricciardo with McLaren CEO Zak Brown

The silver lining to this situation is that Daniel Ricciardo, despite his struggles, has not given up on trying. That mentality is important as it only takes one race to turn it all around.

Daniel Ricciardo, in a recent interview, said, “I do think we’re closer this year than last year funnily enough, so just going to cross the line now with less people in front of me and more behind me and everything is sweet.

“I think at this sport, everything operates at such a high level and if something is a little bit out of tune, then it can have a little bit of a carry-on effect.

“It’s really for me to get back into that place when I’m fully in tune with the car, and then it will come.”

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McLaren want both drivers to fire on all cylinders to stay in the fight in this pretty crowded midfield battle. Therefore, it becomes important to regain some of his lost form and get back to winning ways.

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